A Man Short
by Goody
Summary: The Leverage team is a man short for a job, but luckily Eliot has someone they can call for help, his cousin Shawn Spencer. Complete!
1. Chapter 1

**Title**: A Man Short (Leverage/Psych crossover) 1/?  
**Rating**: PG for now  
**Summary**: The team is a man short for a job, luckily Eliot has someone he can call, even if he doesn't like it.  
**Spoilers**: None yet.  
**Author's Note:** Takes place after my previous fic "The One That Got Away" – not necessary to read that first but I think it's a pretty good little fic and you should give it a chance. Originally written for the comment_fic prompt: _Leverage, teamfic, "You think we need one more? You think we need one more. Alright, we'll get one more." (Ocean's 11)._

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"So, basically we're a man short," Eliot summed up for them all when the silence of them thinking had stretched into more than two minutes.

"The only thing we can do is send Sophie in alone," Hardison pointed out yet again.

"No, it won't work," Nate argued, having a feeling from this mark. "Without anyone to back up her cover story he won't buy it, this guy's too paranoid. Hardison, there's no way you can go inside with her and just have your computer automatically do, whatever?"

"You really think this is just like a magic trick I do, don't you? I can just wave my fingers and all your technological wishes come true? It ain't like that, computer doesn't just do what I ask it to. I ain't Mikah!" Hardison pointed out loudly.

"Who the hell's Mikah?" Eliot asked.

"Watch some television!" Hardison snapped, hating when Nate asked him to do stuff he couldn't do.

"So," Sophie brought them all back to point. "We're a man short."

"Or a woman. Don't be sexist," Parker requested.

"Well then, let's get one more," Nate suggested.

"You got an extra con-artist sitting in your back pocket?" Eliot asked sarcastically.

"No, but you do," Hardison answered, eyebrows going up in realization. "Well, in your phone anyway."

"What?" Eliot asked, brow furrowed.

"That guy, in Santa Barbara, gave us the heads up about the cops. You said he was a con-artist."

Eliot cringed while Sophie looked incredibly interested, "Eliot?"

"No … we can't … no, just no. It'll be like having two Parkers, except this one's ADD and always on a sugar high," Eliot warned. But now Parker's attention was fully gained.

"I want him!" she demanded. "I'm intrigued … and hungry."

"Can he pull it off?" Nate asked seriously.

Eliot sighed but had to nod, "Yeah, he can do it. He's pretty good once he gets focused."

"Call him," Nate decided then got up from the table, his work done.

"Do not say I didn't warn you, all of you," Eliot reiterated, standing from the table to pull out his cell phone. It rang three times.

"Shawn Spencer, Psychic Detective. I divine that my cousin Eliot needs my assistance," Shawn answered confidently.

"Yeah that's a real impressive use of caller ID you got there Shawn. You interested in working a job with me and my team? We'll pay ya and it's for a good cause," Eliot explained briefly.

He could imagine Shawn thinking it over, "Hmm, that depends. Would I get to break the law? Can I have a gun? An expensive suit? A pair of finely tailored trousers?"

"Sure, any of the above, except the gun, just don't tell your dad. When can you be here?"

Shawn hummed, thinking it over, "Well, I have to pack, make up some lies about where I'm going, refuel the bike, maybe get a pedicure, my cuticles are just the worst lately …"

"Shawn!"

"Four hours. Approximately. I can't vouch for any unprecedented roadside incidents or natural disasters, or cute waitresses at diners," Shawn answered, always enjoying getting a rise out of his cousin's temper.

"Be here in four hours," Eliot grumbled then hung up without waiting for Shawn's response. He sighed and rubbed his face – this was going to be a long job. He looked back at the others knowing they had no idea what they were in for.

* * *

In Santa Barbara Shawn snapped his phone shut and actually skipped into the main office to grab his keys, giddy with excitement.

"Gus, I'm going to LA for the weekend, maybe longer. Don't wait up, hold my calls but not if they're heavy and uh, give yourself a raise," Shawn called out as he headed for the door.

Gus scrambled to his feet with incredible speed, blocking his way, "Whoa! Whoa! Tell me I did not just hear you say you were going to LA for the weekend."

"I can tell you that but it won't be the truth. Do you want me to say it anyway?"

"We have a case Shawn! You can't go anywhere!" Gus pointed out.

"Oh, right the case," Shawn said dramatically like he might have forgotten. "Yeah, uh, there is no case. There was no robbery."

Shawn tried to leave again but Gus side-stepped him, arms filling the doorway, "What do you mean there was no robbery? Mrs. Feldman's jewelry was gone and the window was broken."

"First of all, the glass was mostly on the ground outside, meaning the window was broken from the inside out, which no burglar would ever do unless he's just a total a-hole. Secondly, there's not really a robbery because the jewelry was 'stolen' by the person who bought it."

"Mrs. Feldman robbed herself and then came to a psychic to report the crime?" Gus said in a tone indicating how ridiculous that theory was.

"No, she wore the jewelry but she didn't buy it. Her husband's having some financial troubles, hell, who isn't, so he pawned off some of the jewelry he's given her over the last few years. Couldn't bear to tell her so he staged a robbery. It's kind of sweet in a way. Okay, see you Monday," Shawn finished, slapping Gus on the back as he finally stepped by him to get to his motorcycle.

"What are you doing in LA anyway?" Gus asked, following now but not trying to stop him.

"Visiting my cousin."

Gus halted, "Your cousin? Shawn, you can't possibly be visiting your cousin, you've only got one cousin and he's … no. No Shawn, you can't."

"At this point you probably know too much so I'm going to go," Shawn said with finality as he hopped on his bike.

"Shawn, he's a wanted international fugitive. If you know where he is and don't tell the cops that's a felony," Gus reminded him.

"Guess what Gus, I lie to cops for a living, which is also considered a felony so I think I'll be fine. Besides, I already told Eliot I'd go. Do you really think I should disappoint him? I'm kind of fond of having all ten of my fingers, and I think you are too," Shawn joked since he wasn't actually scared of Eliot at all.

"Hey, don't bring me into this!" Gus demanded at which point Shawn actually sobered slightly.

"I won't. That's why you're staying here and I'm not going to tell you anything else about where I'm going. I'll call you when I get back."

"Shawn!" Gus yelled in frustration as his friend started his bike and drove away. "What am I gonna tell your dad!?"

"That his shirts are ugly!" Shawn shouted back, waved and was off to LA to break the law with his cousin. He'd never been more excited for a family outing in his life.

TBC

We'll learn more about the actual con next time and how Shawn interacts with the team. It's all very exciting!


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** A Man Short (Leverage/Psych crossover) 2/?  
**Rating**: PG for now  
**Summary:** The team is a man short for a job, luckily Eliot has someone he can call, even if he doesn't like it. His cousin, psychic detective Shawn Spencer  
**Spoilers**: None yet.  
**Author's Note**: Takes place after my previous fic "The One That Got Away" – not necessary to read that first but I think it's a pretty good little fic and you should give it a chance. Originally written for the comment_fic prompt: _Leverage, teamfic, "You think we need one more? You think we need one more. Alright, we'll get one more." (Ocean's 11)._

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Back at Leverage Headquarters the team was busy getting ready for the con now that they had their extra man on the way. After running through some of the specifics for the plan with Hardison, Nate found Eliot in his office practically screaming into his phone.

"Why did you say you knew how to get here if you don't know your way around LA?"

Eliot spotted Nate in the doorway and gave him the 'one second' hand motion, "Shawn, that show wasn't even set in LA."

After shaking his head at whatever response he had gotten, Eliot caved, "Where are you? Okay, just stay there, I'll come meet you … Shawn, I don't care if you think Val Kilmer just drove by, stay put!"

Eliot shut his phone with a growl causing Nate to quirk his eyebrow, "Are you sure we can trust this guy?"

"I trust him," Eliot replied without hesitation. "He just frustrates me. Family'll do that, you know."

"Family?" Nate questioned, having left the room earlier before learning who their new member was.

"Yeah, he's my cousin. Runs a steady con down in Santa Barbara pretending to be psychic," Eliot explained as he grabbed his leather jacket.

"Are you sure it's wise to bring family into this?" Nate asked quietly, remembering how personally Eliot had taken the Horse Job.

"Hey, you said to get one more, I got you one more. He'll be fine … if I can find him. Be back soon," Eliot promised and disappeared out the door. Nate watched him go and tried not to shake his head.

An hour later the rest of the team was waiting in the conference room. Eliot had just called to say they were almost there and the others were eager to meet their new teammate, but no one was as excited as Parker.

"When are they going to be here?" she asked in a dramatic whine as she flopped her head down on the table.

"We've only been waiting like five minutes," Hardison told her.

"Hey, how many chances in my life am I going to get to meet a male version of myself?" Parker pointed out, then crinkled her forehead. "Do you think he'll be blond?"

"I don't think Eliot meant he would look like you," Sophie interjected. "I think he meant you both might have the same … energetic enthusiasm."

"Oh," Parker sulked, a little disappointed. Then she heard the office door opening and jumped up from the table towards the lobby. "They're here!"

Eliot came in first, talking to the man behind him, "Just leave your stuff here, we'll take it back to my place later."

"Cool," Shawn answered but stopped short when Parker skidded down the hallway and stopped just a few inches in front of him, examining him closely.

"Hellooo," Shawn greeted her cautiously.

Parker seemed deep in thought as she looked him up and down, carefully inspecting his appearance and reactions, "You're not blond."

"And you're not a dinosaur," Shawn answered. Parker thought that over for a moment, tilted her head decided she liked it and smiled brightly then ruffled Shawn's hair.

"True. Okay, we can keep him," she said cheerfully to Eliot then skipped back to the conference room.

When she was gone Shawn turned to his cousin, "Uh, dude?"

"That's Parker. You'll learn," was all Eliot would say as he led the way down the hall. They found the team sitting in the conference room but they all stood when the two entered. "Hey guys, this is Shawn, my cousin."

"Nice to meet you Shawn," Nate greeted him with a handshake. "Thanks for coming in for us. I'm Nate. That's Sophie, Parker most likely sniffed you in the hallway and I'm told you already know Hardison."

Shawn nodded at the hacker in recognition and then held up his hand in a V, "Hey, live long and prosper dude."

"Seriously? I don't … what do you tell people about me?" Hardison demanded of Eliot upon receiving the extremely stereotypical geek greeting.

"Nothing that ain't true," Eliot shrugged, sitting at the table.

"Can I see your elf costume later?" Shawn asked in an excited whisper as he sat on Hardison's other side.

Hardison didn't respond, just slowly glared at Eliot, "That's low. You wanna see geeky? Good luck next time you try to open your email because no SPAM blocker on the planet is gonna save you."

Eliot took such a casual swig of his water bottle after his threat that Hardison became worried that Eliot never checked his email anyway.

"All right, well, since Shawn seems to be fitting in so nicely why don't you run it for him Hardison, let him know what he's getting into," Nate suggested, gesturing towards the display screen.

Still annoyed Hardison hit a few keys to start the slideshow that was now strictly for Shawn's benefit since they all knew what was going on.

"Oh pictures! This is good, I'm a visual sort of learner."

"All right, this is Rene Fenez," Nate began when a picture of a well-dressed man in his fifties appeared on-screen. He was well built for his age and had eyes that spoke of alertness and intelligence. "All around sleazebag and head of a major drug-running con ring. He is a client of my former employer's IYS Insurance which is how I got the intel on him. Now he 'technically' makes all his money through laundered investments and fake business fronts but the actual cash comes from these people."

A click of a button and the screen changed to show six new people, some shady looking, others seemingly professional.

"Fenez bankrolls all these guys in a pyramid scheme of con artists who sell 'miracle cure' drugs to desperate, terminally ill patients. They have a couple different sales pitches, they'll say it's a new drug from Sweden, not approved for the States yet or it's something they're getting in a trial run not available to the public. Whatever they have to, to hook these people and their families on the idea that it's a cure so rare that they're going to have to cough up some serious cash to get it, when they're actually just selling steroids and pep pills. They'll make you feel better for a couple of days, maybe a week and then you're worse off than when you started and out of money."

"And people usually can't go to the cops afterwards because they bought the drugs illegally anyway," Eliot remarked, pre-empting Shawn's question about telling the police.

"Our clients, the Anthony family," Hardison introduced the new people on the screen. "William Anthony, twelve year old son of Patricia and Thomas Anthony, has Sickle Cell Anemia. It's usually fatal after a couple of years and there's no surefire cure, but they mortgaged their car and home to pay for one that they thought they were getting from Fenez's drug pushers. Kid seemed like he was getting better, now he's worse, needs a bone marrow transplant that they can't afford."

Shawn was starting to look mildly devastated by all this, the fun outing he had planned not seeming that way at all, but Sophie sensed this and reassured him.

"We're currently paying for William's treatment, along with a few other of Fenez's victims, don't worry. William's on a waiting list but they're hopeful," Sophie assured him. "Right now we're concentrating on putting Fenez away."

"You guys can just afford to pay for a bunch of people's medical bills?" Shawn asked. Sure, their office was very nice but terminal diseases were insanely expensive to treat.

Eliot cleared his throat, realizing that everyone was waiting for him to tell Shawn, "We're uh, we got money, don't worry."

"How much money?"

"A lot!" Parker announced happily, hugging herself. "So much pretty money. I keep some in the bath tub."

"We each contributed a couple million to a team fund to use whenever we need to help out any of our clients and to bankroll our con jobs," Hardison explained in more detail.

Shawn's eyes widened as he looked from Hardison to Eliot, "Million? Millions? With an 's'? You're a millionaire? Dude, can I borrow twenty bucks? Or twenty-thousand bucks?"

"You done?" Eliot asked, indicating the slide show wasn't over.

"No. I just found out I have a cousin who is a millionaire, yet he dresses like he just went for an audition for Wolverine and didn't get the part because his hair's too long," Shawn ranted.

"And because Hugh Jackman's the man," Hardison mumbled.

"Agreed," Shawn shot back.

"Boys, eyes on the screen," Nate demanded, sharing a brief look with Sophie that said 'what are we getting ourselves into?'.

"All right, so, even if we went to the cops we don't have any evidence to link Rene Fenez to his generals selling the drugs on the street, that's what we need to get," Nate continued, bringing up a picture of Fenez's home. "Fenez is having a party in two days at his very well guarded home. The evidence we need will either be on Fenez's computer or they'll be hard copies in his safe."

"So you need me to rob his office?" Shawn questioned.

"No, that's Parker's job," Nate replied with a dismissive wave. The blond grinned at Shawn impishly and stuck her tongue out at him like she had beat him at something. He glared back playfully but then paid attention. "What you'll be doing is helping Sophie. We need her close to Fenez to get access to his keycards and passwords but he's paranoid and needs an in so you will be posing as a millionaire playboy and Sophie is your investment advisor. She doesn't work for you exclusively but she's supposedly made you a lot of money which you will make sure Fenez knows. First we're going to set you up to run into the man tomorrow, talk to him for awhile and establish enough of a relationship that it won't seem off when you show up at his party the next night with Sophie."

"So, let me get this straight, I'm not robbing anyone? Or stealing anything? I'm just talking to a guy?" Shawn questioned. Nate nodded and Shawn crossed his arm petulantly. "This sucks. You guys are internationally wanted thieves, I wanted to do something cool."

"It's still illegal," Eliot assured him but Shawn just shrugged.

"It's not the same."

"Shawn, this is serious and dangerous. Do you think you can get this guy to talk to you?" Nate asked.

Shawn looked up, the picture of the kid, William, was back on the screen.

"Yeah, I can do it."

"All right, Hardison get his identity set up. You didn't happen to bring a suit did you?"

"No, I must have left it on my other motorcycle," Shawn quipped, but then Sophie perked up.

"No problem, I can take him shopping," Sophie assured them. It didn't escape Shawn's notice when everyone else cringed and took a step back at the suggestion. "I know the perfect place, give me ten minutes. I need a new pair of shoes for tomorrow anyway."

As she disappeared down the hall the rest of the group collectively sighed, then looked slightly amused.

"What?" Shawn asked.

"You're going shopping with Sophie," Eliot remarked simply with an amused grin.

"Hope you're stronger than you look," Parker added. "You're going to be carrying a lot of bags."

"My upper body strength is considerable, thank you. And I only need one suit," Shawn pointed out hopefully.

"Yes, but Sophie doesn't need just one pair of shoes," Nate commented, then slapped him on the back before he left the room. "Welcome to the team."

Shawn looked slightly worried but Hardison pulled him out of it, "Come on, I need to take your picture for your new ID."

"Thought you were just gonna haul one off the DMV site from his license or something," Eliot remarked.

Looking mildly frustrated, Hardison tapped some keys on his laptop, "Yeah, that didn't really pan out."

The conference room screen changed to show the DMV website. Parker laughed as Shawn's picture popped up showing the fake psychic grinning widely with fake vampire teeth in his mouth.

"What are you twelve?" Eliot asked, shaking his head.

"I was going through a phase. I had just seen Twilight. What can I say, Robert Pattinson is just super dreamy," Shawn deadpanned. Hardison stared at him uncertainly while Parker cringed.

"I may have misjudged you," she mumbled unhappily and also left the room.

Shawn looked to Eliot again, finding himself completely unable to read most of these people he had just introduced him to.

"She doesn't do well with sarcasm," Eliot explained.

"Come on, I don't get a picture I'm gonna have to put 'Vlad' down on your ID," Hardison reminded him, ushering him to his office where the camera was.

"Oh, can I pick my fake name? It's kind of my specialty! How about Abe Frohman?" Shawn suggested excitedly.

"You mean the Sausage King of Chicago?" Hardison replied with a grin. "Ferris Bueller, really?"

"Fine. Tom Kazansky," Shawn tried, his voice tight.

"No, that's Val Kilmer in Top Gun," Hardison parried, enjoying the game.

Shawn grit his teeth, accepting the unspoken pop culture competition gauntlet that had been laid down.

"John Bender."

"Breakfast club," Hardison replied.

"Johnny Utah."

"Keanu Reeves, Point Break."

"Axel Foley."

"Beverly Hills Cop. And you're not black."

"Peter Venkman."

"Ghostbusters."

Shawn squared his shoulders, ready to pull out the big guns, "Randall Peltzer."

Hardison stood up, un-intimidated, "The kid in Gremlins."

Shawn's eyes widened, "Daniel Larusso."

"The Karate Kid."

"Ren McCormack."

"Kevin Bacon, Footloose."

Shawn actually felt himself hesitate and he grasped at anything, "John Connor?"

"Don't insult me."

"Stop it!" Eliot demanded, causing them both to jump. "I've got geek OD going on over here. Shawn, you're Daniel Connor, live with it. Hardison, just take the picture. Now I gotta go hurt somebody, unless either of you want to volunteer."

"No, please go," Shawn replied, lips closed tight as he backed away.

Eliot stormed out and Shawn looked to the equally scared Hardison, "It's always nice when I get a chance to visit."

"Well, at least now I know he doesn't treat me any differently than his own family. It's kind of touching in a terrifying way," Hardison replied, smiling easily as they now recognized each other as kindred spirits in the way of pop culture, although Shawn seemed more fixated on the 80's than the current stuff. "All right, we better take this picture or Eliot will pound us when he gets back. And Sophie will be ready soon."

Shawn cringed, remembering how everyone had reacted to the idea of shopping with Sophie, "Hey man, any chance you could come along with me for that?"

Hardison laughed and shook his head, "Nah man, sorry, I don't like you that much yet. Good luck though."

Shawn sighed, "Thanks."

TBC

More with Shawn and the team next time. Hope you enjoyed!


	3. Chapter 3

**Title:** A Man Short (Leverage/Psych crossover) 3/?  
**Rating**: PG for now  
**Summary:** The team is a man short for a job, luckily Eliot has someone he can call, even if he doesn't like it. His cousin, psychic detective Shawn Spencer  
**Spoilers**: None yet.  
**Author's Note**: Takes place after my previous fic "The One That Got Away" – not necessary to read that first but I think it's a pretty good little fic and you should give it a chance. Originally written for the comment_fic prompt: _Leverage, teamfic, "You think we need one more? You think we need one more. Alright, we'll get one more." (Ocean's 11)._

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* * *

  
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"Oh! Here, hold this, I'll be right back."

Shawn sighed as Sophie made the same promise for the sixth time in the last two hours as she disappeared into a jewelry store.

"So, this is what a life of crime gets me? Standing alone in a mall with three pairs of shoes and a pink purse. Great," Shawn mumbled. He spotted a bench nearby and sat, placing his shopping bags on the ground and Sophie's purse as far away from himself as possible without it looking like it was abandoned. He knew he had a few minutes so pulled out his phone. There were no new messages but he took the opportunity to send Gus an enigmatic text.

_It's true. A life of crime really doesn't pay, it just gives you sore feet._

He put the phone away knowing Gus wouldn't respond since he was at work right now and was surprised to see Sophie already emerging from her latest treasure hunt.

"Was it not as nice up close or did the diamonds give you a bad vibe? Some are cursed you know, you gotta be careful," Shawn warned her playfully as he stood up again.

She smiled, enjoying his sense of humor, "No, it looked great. The saleswoman however was a total bitch and I was not about to give her that kind of commission. I'll just buy it off the internet when I get home."

"Great," Shawn replied, secretly very unsurprised that Sophie internet shopped as well. "So, it's been an hour, my suit's probably tailored by now. We should go pick that thing up."

They had gone to the suit store first to get Shawn fitted with a tuxedo. After half an hour Sophie finally chose one that would accentuate all his features best – even with his extreme eye for detail he couldn't tell how it looked any different than the other two hundred suits they had looked at but he wasn't about to argue with her – and they had needed to fill an hour while it was tailored. Shawn had hoped to stop at a smoothie bar but Sophie had been eager to fill the hour with shoes, clothes and jewelry and she wasn't done.

"In just a minute. We should get you a pair of shoes," Sophie suggested, leading them towards a different suit store.

"But, I already have shoes!" Shawn whined, holding the bag up high as proof.

Sophie looked at him with sheer disappointment, "Shawn, you can't have just one pair of shoes."

He sighed in defeat, "Of course, what was I thinking?"

When they got inside Sophie tore through the shoes, picking out two more pairs for the fake psychic. Before he could rush them out of there she took a stroll through the blazers looking thoughtful.

"You know, you're going to need something more casual for tomorrow when you meet Rene for the first time. Here, take this shirt and this blazer and go see how they look," Sophie instructed, pushing Shawn towards the change room.

"Fine. Then can we go?" he asked, no longer trying to hide his impatience.

"If they pass inspection, yes. I'll get a few more things ready for you to try on just in case though," Sophie promised, going back to the suit racks.

Shawn sighed then mumbled to himself as he entered the change room, "I'm going to die in this mall. Suicide or old age, one of them will get me. Hmm, old age probably, I couldn't deny the world this kind of perfection."

"Hi Shawn!"

"Whoa! What? How? Who? God?" Shawn demanded all of the above, jumping and spinning to look around him for the source of the voice that appeared from nowhere.

"Up here."

Shawn's eyes went up to the air vent in the changing room stall just a little above head level that had someone inside, waving.

"Parker?" Shawn asked in pure amazement, standing up on the bench in the stall to meet her at eye level. "What are you … are you stuck?"

"Pff, please. I came to rescue you," she explained, smiling and seeming quite comfortable in the enclosed space.

"By whisking me into the magical land of the air duct?"

"Oh no, you can't come in here, this is _my_ hiding spot. And you can't tell Sophie I'm here. She'll buy me things," Parker said in a hush, her tone full of fear and warning.

"It definitely isn't as fun as it originally sounded, I have to agree," Shawn replied, understanding completely why she wouldn't want to get caught. "Well, if we're not going to magic-air-duct-land how are you going to rescue me?"

"I brought you this," she answered, slipping him a newspaper through the slit in the vent.

"She has a weakness for current events?" he asked, taking it and opening it up.

"No, auditions. Trust me. And remember, I was never here," she reminded him in a threatening tone.

"I'm actually having a hard time believing I'm not hallucinating you right now, so no worries," Shawn answered. Parker just nodded but didn't say anything else. There was an awkward moment while Shawn waited for more and Parker just sat there, smiling, "Was there something else or are you actually stuck like I thought?"

"No," Parker assured him. "You were about to change right?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Carry on," she urged him, clearly not moving.

Shawn turned away then, mouthing the word 'creepy'.

He came out of the stall a few minutes later, looking quite dashing in the shirt and blazer, or so he thought. Sophie was waiting with five more outfits and an unhappy frown. Before she could comment on how it 'didn't fill out his shoulders' or 'clashed with his hair color' he threw the newspaper down onto the counter beside her.

"The things people leave in there," he commented casually as if it he had just found it on the floor. Watching closely he easily spotted the gleam in Sophie's eyes when she read the words 'Open Auditions' listed on the top of the page he had thrown down. She was deep in thought for a moment before smiling at him, now eager to leave.

"That blazer looks fabulous Shawn. It really goes well with your hair. Why don't you go change back and then we'll pick up your suit," she suggested.

It was hard to act surprised and hide his smile, but he managed, "Oh, uh yeah, sure. One sec."

He gleefully returned to the change room, excited to get out of the mall and even more excited to see that Parker was gone from the air vent … at least he hoped so.

* * *

They got back to the office forty-five minutes later for a quick meeting. The rest of the team was already at the conference table. Shawn made eye contact with Parker and mouthed 'Thank You' to which the thief shrugged like it was no big deal.

"Let's make this quick," Sophie requested, sitting down. "I have somewhere to go."

Shawn sat next to Eliot and gave his cousin a confused stare when he saw him sitting there in a suit and tie, "Dude, I am touched that you totally took my suggestion to heart. From lumberjack to wall street in the same day … when are you cutting your hair?"

"You touch my hair I touch yours, with a razor," Eliot warned him, then explained simply. "I had a job interview."

Shawn looked at the rest of the team, "I thought you were millionaires. Wow, the recession has really just gotten ridiculous, I must say."

Nate interrupted before Shawn could really get Eliot worked up, "You get what you needed?"

"No, this town has a disturbing lack of pineapple flavored ANYTHING. Seriously, you've got kumquat smoothies but there's not a trace of delicious pineapple anywhere," Shawn ranted, then saw the serious glint in Nate's eye and added quickly. "But I did get two really nice suits. Thanks."

"Good," Nate replied with a sigh. "So, here's the plan, how are you at poker?"

"Unstoppable," Shawn replied instantly.

Nate looked hesitant by his enthusiastic response but Eliot nodded slightly in agreement next to his cousin.

"All right, good. Rene plays hold 'em every Thursday night here at the Three Strikes in a special high stakes room. You're going to go tomorrow night, we'll front your buy-in, but it'll be up to you to make sure you're at Rene's table," Nate instructed.

"Great, how much do you want me to win?" Shawn asked.

"You're going to lose," Sophie told him apologetically.

"What?" Parker and Shawn both exclaimed at once.

"The pretty money …" Parker pointed out, but Nate held up a hand to stop her.

"You can win as much as you want from the rest of the table Shawn, just do not beat Fenez. He's not going to like you if you take his money, but he also won't like you if you seem incompetent. You have to play well, but let him win," Nate finished.

Shawn nodded, "Kay. So, what's this guy into besides screwing over dying people? How do I get him to like me?"

"We're not sure, we'll get a feel for him as the night goes, Sophie will feed you pointers throughout the game," Nate told him.

"Are you going to be there?" Shawn asked her.

"No, here, take this," Hardison instructed as he handed Shawn something so small he could barely see it. "She'll talk to you through that."

"Earpieces!? This is so cool! I am totally James Bonding right now. I just need a hot female sidekick with a ridiculous name. Can I also get a watch that will deflect bullets and a car that flies … and makes espresso?" he requested.

"No. You get an earpiece and a suit. That's it," Eliot told him firmly.

"Actually he needs a car," Nate pointed out.

"He can't show up for a high stakes poker game on his bike," Sophie added.

Eliot groaned, picturing Shawn behind the wheel of a luxury car. He pointed at Nate, "He's getting one of yours then."

"You don't trust me with your babies?" Shawn asked with mock hurt.

"No," all five members of the Leverage team replied in unison.

"Whoa, okay. And hey, I'll be careful," Shawn protested. "I mean, you're trusting me to do this alone, with nothing but a voice in my ear."

"And Eliot," Parker added. "He'll be there."

"Oh," Shawn said, face drooping with disappointment that he wasn't going solo. "You playing a millionaire too?"

"I'm on Fenez's security team," Eliot replied.

"How'd you manage that?"

"Told ya I had a job interview. Guy hired me," Eliot answered.

"He just happened to have a security opening the same week you guys were going to rob him?" Shawn questioned, knowing something else must be behind it all and eager to learn their tricks.

"Well …," Hardison started when Eliot didn't reply. "Two of his old guards MAY have been mildly hospitalized recently in a bar fight, which opened up some vacancies."

Shawn's eyes widened as he looked at his cousin, "Oh. So when you said you were going out to hurt somebody …"

"I'm a literal guy Shawn," Eliot replied tightly.

"I personally appreciate it. It makes you very easy to talk to. I don't like metaphors," Parker announced.

Shawn looked thoughtful and then got a gleam in his eye, "Wait, so you weren't joking last Christmas when I called and you said you were …"

"I don't want to talk about it," Eliot cut him off with a glare.

Hardison leaned over to Shawn excitedly, "Please finish that sentence."

"Okay, the job, anyone! Sick, dying people, bastard who's robbing and killing them, any of this ring any bells?" Nate yelled, demanding attention back up front as the meeting spiraled out of control.

"Later," Shawn promised Hardison as they both faced front once more.

"Good. So, yes, Eliot will be there in the unlikely circumstance that anything goes wrong, which it shouldn't. At least not tomorrow anyway," Nate mumbled. "So Shawn, tomorrow Sophie is going to give you some quick tips on how to play rich then you've got to be ready for 9 o'clock for your poker game."

"Got it."

"Parker, I want you in the lounge downstairs just in case we need you to run interference on anyone," Nate requested to which the blond nodded. "And Sophie, Hardison and I will be here. That's about it for tomorrow. Any questions?"

Shawn's hand shot up, "Yes, very quickly. If cavemen and astronauts got into a fight, who would win?"

Most everyone shook their heads. Sophie sighed, "I have to go."

Eliot agreed, "I gotta get to work."

Nate left as well, "I need a drink."

There was silence in the room for a moment.

Parker blinked, "Do the astronauts have weapons?"

But Hardison was already moving seats to be next to Shawn, "Dude, what were you going to say about Eliot at Christmas?"

"Let's just say it involved a girl, a whip, a cliff, a pack of dogs and a bottle of tequila … and no, the astronauts don't have weapons."

TBC

Hope you're all enjoying. It's been fun integrating Shawn into the team.

And credit where due: a good chunk of the 'con' I stole from an episode of Burn Notice and the astronaut joke isn't mine. If you've seen it, you'd remember it.

Thanks for reading! You are all amazing for letting me know that you're enjoying the fic so much!!! All your responses have been gold and made getting new chapters out easy and quick.


	4. Chapter 4

**Title:** A Man Short (Leverage/Psych crossover) 4/?  
**Rating**: PG for now  
**Summary:** The team is a man short for a job, luckily Eliot has someone he can call, even if he doesn't like it. His cousin, psychic detective Shawn Spencer  
**Spoilers**: None yet.  
**Author's Note**: Takes place after my previous fic "The One That Got Away" – not necessary to read that first but I think it's a pretty good little fic and you should give it a chance. And FYI – when dialogue is in italics it means someone is talking over the com lines and not in the room.

* * *

The next day went by quickly for Shawn. Having not been to LA often he actually hauled himself out of bed early to check out some sights. He had to meet Sophie at 3 o'clock for his 'how to play rich' lessons but before he went he managed to get his picture taken with Val Kilmer's sculpture at the Wax Museum, throw a plastic dinosaur into the La Brea Tar Pits to really mess up any paleontologists in the future, and unsuccessfully attempted to ride a dolphin at the LA Zoo.

Suffice to say, by the time he got to the office to meet Sophie he was fairly exhausted, and wet. She was skeptical about how much he was actually going to take away from this lesson in his current state but he assured her she would not have to repeat herself about anything and even let her test him after she was done. After spouting off the differences between six types of wine he had never tried in his life she was satisfied and let him leave. He went back to Eliot's for a nap.

Eliot wasn't home and Shawn grumbled as he had to unlock six deadbolts before he could get inside the apartment.

"Paranoid much?" he muttered as he finally got inside, entered the alarm code and immediately collapsed onto his bed in the guest room. Sighing contently he hugged his pillow and then opened his eyes when his hand hit something hard underneath. Sitting up he pulled the pillow away to reveal a six-inch knife.

"Wha … he let me sleep on this!?" Shawn exclaimed, not having noticed the weapon the night before. "I could have lost an eye, or hair follicles."

Too tired to grumble about it for long he put the knife on the nightstand and went to sleep.

An hour later he was woken up by a rough hand shaking his shoulder.

"Go away," he pleaded, still tired.

"Don't make me shake you again Shawn, you won't like it," Eliot warned him.

"All right," Shawn mumbled, cracking an eye open to peer at his cousin. "What?"

"Get up," Eliot said like it was obvious. "We've got a con to pull."

"It's only 7 o'clock. Poker game's not until 9," Shawn pointed out as he snuggled back into the pillow.

"And how long is it gonna take you to do your hair?" Eliot asked.

"That's quite a question coming from the guy with the lion mane."

Eliot hit him with a pillow.

"All right, all right!" Shawn's eyes popped open when he remembered that his hair had gotten wet and flattened from his earlier adventure with the dolphins. "I suppose I could use some grooming. I'm going to need a bathroom, a hair dryer, a bottle of gel and absolute silence."

"Whatever, knock yourself out," Eliot mumbled, starting to leave the room now that his work was done and Shawn was awake.

"Oh, and please take this," Shawn requested, picking up the knife and holding it out to Eliot. "You'll probably need it the next time you fight a bear, or do whatever it is you do."

"Is this the one from the mattress or the window?" Eliot asked, taking the knife back.

"What? There are more of these in here?" Shawn asked indignantly, looking around. "Are ninjas gonna jump in and try to attack at any moment or something?"

"I hope not, I got places to be today, and I'd hate for you to die with flat hair," Eliot replied casually as he left the room.

"Die?" Shawn repeated. "That … that was your joking voice right? Eliot? Does … does Hardison have a spare bedroom I can use? Maybe one that isn't filled with weapons?"

"No one's gonna attack you," Eliot assured him, not in the mood for more of Shawn's griping. "Now go get ready."

"All right, but if I die the world will weep," Shawn warned him.

"Yeah, tears of joy. Go," Eliot ordered and Shawn finally relented, disappearing into the bathroom. He came out to the living room a little over a half hour later, hair perfect and decked out in his casual suit. He strutted out to the living room and even did a spin.

"It's perfectly normal to experience feelings of jealousy at a moment like this. Not everyone can rock a suit this hard," he said cockily.

Eliot stood in the doorway, unimpressed, "Yeah, you might want to take the tags off the jacket before we go there, Stud."

"What?" Shawn felt around the cuffs and collar looking for the tag and finally found it at the back of his neck. "Gonna need some scissors."

Eliot stepped over and tore it with his hands.

"You're good. Let's go," Eliot ordered, motioning him towards the door.

"You're bossy," Shawn remarked with a frown. "And overly muscled. You're probably compensating for something. Are you bad at math?"

"I'm bad at waiting," Eliot growled and Shawn got the hint to move out the door.

As Eliot set the alarm and deadbolts it was Shawn's turn to wait, "I guess I never did figure the three hours it takes to lock your apartment into our schedule."

Eliot had no comment as they took the elevator down to the parking garage and climbed into Eliot's jeep.

"So, this isn't the car I'm taking," Shawn guessed.

"No, we're going to get it now," Eliot explained.

"Sweet," Shawn exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air in excitement. Even after all the crazy stuff he'd done in his life he still hadn't driven a luxury car any further than valet parking. They pulled out and drove for twenty minutes before they reached the parking garage of another apartment building.

"Who lives here?"

"Nate. I told him you weren't getting one of my cars, don't care if he didn't believe me," Eliot repeated himself. They drove in and Eliot pulled into a private section made to hold five cars, though it currently only housed three. They got out and Eliot pointed to the cars next to them. "All right, those are your options. It's your pick."

Shawn stood in awe, tears of joy threatening to fall from his eyes as he looked over his choices; a bright red Tesla Roadster, a gray Aston Martin and a blue Maserati.

Before he could decide he turned to Eliot and surprised the bigger man when he leapt at him with a tight hug.

"I love you so much!"

Eliot rolled his eyes and patted him once on the back, wondering if Shawn was aware that Eliot's first instinct when someone leapt at him was to break their nose.

"Sure, ditto Shawn, whatever. Now you gonna pick –"

"Aston Martin," Shawn cut him off, having picked on sight. "I am going to James Bond this so hardcore that Daniel Craig will weep."

"Great, whatever that means. Here are the keys, the car's got GPS to get you to the poker game. I gotta go work security, if you get there before Fenez make sure you don't sit at a full table, I'll try to steer him towards you," Eliot explained as he handed over the keys.

"Got it. What do you think the max speed is on this thing?" he asked excitedly but sobered when Eliot didn't laugh.

"This is serious Shawn. Be careful and take care of yourself, all right?" Eliot requested, showing true concern that touched Shawn slightly.

"I got it, I will. And Eliot, uh thanks for inviting me to do this and, you know, trusting me. It means a lot," Shawn told him, unaccustomed to the show of emotion but willing to put forth the effort.

Eliot smiled ruefully as he got back into his car, "Just make sure I don't regret it."

"Will do," Shawn promised and waved as Eliot pulled out of the lot. "And now to take this baby out for a test spin! Woo hoo!"

Shawn ran to the car like an excited kid and looked in the windows, "Leather seats! My ass will be cushioned like it's never been cushioned before! No more motorcycle wedgies for me!"

He started to open the door and then froze as Eliot's voice suddenly returned.

"_Oh and Shawn, just so you know, your comlink's on_," he told him. Shawn could hear the smirk in his voice.

"Of course it is," Shawn replied, shutting his eyes. "Does that mean just you can hear me or …"

"_No, we're all here_," Hardison piped in, also laughing. "_Motorcycle wedgies, huh? Those can't be fun."_

"_You should try not wearing underwear_," Parker suggested. "_It's very freeing_."

The com was silent for awhile after that.

* * *

A half hour later Shawn pulled in to the Three Strikes Casino valet parking. Without even pausing he tossed the valet his keys and a fifty dollar bill and strode purposefully inside. He approached the money cage and smiled at the girl behind the glass.

"Hello," he greeted her smoothly.

"Good evening sir. How can I help you?" she asked with a smile of her own.

"I'd like in the hold 'em game upstairs," he said confidently.

She smiled, "Of course sir. It is a fifty thousand dollar buy-in."

He slid the credit card Hardison had given him as casually across the counter as he could. She swiped it, asked for a signature and gave him the chips. He walked away and talked quietly into his earpiece.

"Okay, I'm in. Do we know if the guy's here yet?" Shawn asked.

"_Eliot can't really talk to us but it sounded like they got there about ten minutes ago_," Nate replied from back at headquarters.

"Cool. Hey Parker," Shawn said quietly over the com links when he spotted her in a corner of the casino at a slot machine.

"I'm not here," she reminded him.

"Of course, my mistake," he said smugly as he headed upstairs for the poker game. The room was lavish and fit three full tables of players under an ornate red and gold motif. Shawn's eyes easily spotted Eliot and another beefy looking guy standing behind the furthest table and he made sure not to make eye contact as he approached and took the empty seat next to their mark, Rene Fenez. The older man was reclining in his chair, appearing bored as he twirled a poker chip between his fingers.

"Gentlemen," Shawn greeted the table as he sat down, making an entrance. "I hope none of you are too attached to those chips in front of you."

"I'm not, but I'm also not too worried about _you_ taking them," Fenez replied with a condescending smirk.

"So you don't feel threatened by me?" Shawn asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not in the least," Fenez assured him.

Shawn hit the table and smiled, "Excellent, that's exactly what I was going for. Deal the cards, these guys won't know what hit them."

"You put on an excellent show Mr. …"

"Connor," Shawn filled in for Fenez. "Daniel Connor. And I'm more dangerous than I look."

"Yes, I find most people tend to think so," Fenez commented dryly. "I've never seen you here before Mr. Connor."

"_Tell him you just got back to town, you've been vacationing in Venice_," Sophie suggested over the com.

"That's because I haven't been here for awhile, I've been vacationing in Venice, just got back, needed to hit the town," Shawn replied.

"Did you take in the Film Festival?" Fenez asked casually.

Shawn started to open his mouth to say yes but Sophie stopped him, "_Say no! The festival doesn't start until next month, it's a test."_

Shawn forced out a laugh, "Well that would have been kind of hard. It doesn't start until next month."

"Oh yes of course," Fenez said as if he had forgotten. "They must have changed it from last year."

"They must have," Shawn agreed, smiling tightly.

Just then the dealer arrived seeing her table was now full and started the game.

"_Shawn, don't give so much attention to Fenez just yet_," Sophie warned. "_It can't seem like you came here just to meet him. If you're going to play cocky play it to the whole table_."

Shawn heard Eliot sigh behind him. His cousin was fully aware that Shawn would have no problem managing this task. But in order for him to win and justify being so confident he had to learn his opponents' tells first. As the cards were dealt he watched each of them carefully, cataloguing every twitch and reaction. He could only guess from the brief disappointment across Fenez's face that he had mismatched low cards, the guy at the end was acting too casual to have anything less than a pair of face cards, the guy next to him looked thoughtful, the value of his hand would depend on the draw from the dealer and the guy next to him was tapping a chip against the table. Shawn would have to wait to see what his cards were to learn whether this indicated a good or bad hand. He flipped up his own cards – pocket tens, not a bad way to start the game.

The dealer set out the first three cards. Judging by Fenez's reaction he was going to fold by the fourth card which meant this would be a perfect hand for Shawn to win.

The guy at the end bet small, again failing to mislead the table into thinking his hand was bad. The guy after that went big, five thousand dollars.

"Whoa," Shawn half-whistled. "That's a sizeable chunk of change for a guy waiting on the draw to get the cards he needs. Hope it works out for you."

"Excuse me?" The guy questioned, eyes widening and unconsciously shielding his cards.

"Nothing, just saying, there's only like a seven percent chance of you getting your straight, but hey, I'm sure you know what you're doing. I call," Shawn said with a smile, throwing in his chips.

As predicted, Fenez folded but Shawn could tell the older man was watching him closely now.

The dealer set down his next card. A ten. Shawn had three of a kind and there were no face cards showing, which meant buddy at the end probably couldn't beat him. However, that didn't stop the idiot from trying to buy the pot.

"Ten thousand," he bid loudly, trying to intimidate.

The guy next to Shawn hesitated.

"The ten wasn't what you were looking for, was it?" Shawn taunted. "But we still got one more card, you might get it! There's always that seven percent chance!"

"Fold," the guy grunted angrily, flicking his cards away. Turning from Shawn he grabbed a passing waitress. "Get me a drink."

"A martini over here. So, that leaves you and me," Shawn said to the man at the end. "How horribly uninteresting. Call, raise five thousand."

The man matched his bid, seemingly afraid to speak and give away anything more. The last card was dealt. Shawn didn't look at it, he watched his opponent instead. His eye twitched in the slightest way. Shawn looked down, a face card had been dealt but judging by the man's brief disappointed reaction it wasn't the right face card.

"All in!" the man said with what he thought was confidence. Shawn heard fear.

He scoffed, "Yeah sure, why not."

"_Shawn_!" Nate yelled at him. "_I know I told you to lose but it's the first hand_."

Shawn just smiled as if Nate could see him, "Let's see those face cards."

His opponent's eyes widened as he flipped over his cards – two queens.

Shawn nodded and showed his – three tens.

"Ouch sorry man, you know, in a totally non-regretful kind of way," Shawn said smugly and he heard Fenez laugh briefly beside him.

"You're cheating," the man accused, more embarrassed than put off by the loss of money. Shawn was sure he could feel Eliot tense behind him.

"No, you just suck at cards. As you'll be leaving now I suggest you come up with a new hobby. I hear knitting's super fun and very challenging. What is it, pearl once, knit twice? I can never get it straight. I'm sure you'll be a natural."

Shawn knew he was laying the cocky on a little thick but this Fenez was a real ass and a slimeball so Shawn figured the criminal would bond more with him if he came off as a kindred spirit.

The guy at the end left in a huff and the game lulled briefly while Shawn reorganized his increased mountain of chips.

"Good hand," Rene commented and Shawn smirked inwardly at the fact that Fenez was now initiating conversation.

"Thanks, I always like to weed out the idiots early if possible," Shawn replied, making sure he was clear that he didn't consider Fenez to be included in that category.

"It does make for a more challenging game," Fenez agreed. "So what do you do Mr. Connor?"

"Women mostly," Shawn said lecherously. Fenez smiled like he thought he would and Shawn was glad to see he had pegged the man's sense of humor perfectly. "Oh you probably meant … business right. Real estate mostly, bars, hotels, restaurants. I invest as well but don't ask me about that, I couldn't even tell you what I own stocks in, that's all Rita."

"Rita? You let the wife handle the finances?" Fenez asked.

"Hardly. Rita's just my financial advisor and I should give her a raise. She's more than kept me afloat these past few years," Shawn commented deciding to stop there, not wanting to lay Sophie's praise on too thick.

"_Careful Shawn_," Sophie warned him again. "_He hasn't told you his name yet since you got there, don't let it slip that you already know what it is."_

"I never caught your name," Shawn said casually but didn't miss the guarded look in Fenez's eye. Clearly he had purposely not offered it earlier.

"Rene," he said only.

"Pleasure," Shawn remarked but the next hand was being dealt.

The next half hour passed quickly without the game getting far as Shawn was forced to back down from the lead every time Fenez had a good hand. He did beat him once but it was only for a few thousand and he had to keep up appearances.

Back at headquarters Hardison muted the microphones and looked up at Nate, "I gotta say, Eliot was right. Guy's holding his own."

"I don't think he's even needed much help from me," Sophie agreed. "But don't tell him that."

"Well, I never thought Eliot would bring him in if he couldn't do it but let's not give a round of applause just yet. He's still got to get out," Nate reminded them all.

Back at the casino Shawn cursed to himself. He had a winning hand and more than half his chips in the pot. It should have been safe to bet so high since Fenez had a weak hand but the son of a bitch decided he felt like bluffing and had called 'all in'. If Shawn didn't fold Fenez would be out of the game and Shawn would be out of his good graces.

"It goes to you, sir," the dealer reminded him as he thought over his options.

"Yeah, thanks," Shawn muttered and played with his chips, trying to do some fast math in his head. Then he and Eliot flinched simultaneously as there was yelling over the com line.

"_Oh! I won. I won_!" Parker was screaming enthusiastically downstairs, seemingly oblivious to the team hearing her.

"_Parker!"_ Nate yelled at her in warning, but she took it as a chance to explain.

"_I won, at the slot machine! There's money coming out! It's beautiful_."

"Sir," the dealer prodded Shawn again.

He shook his head, hating getting distracted and kicked his cards in, "Yeah, fold."

Rene smiled, pleased, "Good choice."

"_Parker, stop yelling_!" Nate shouted again and she finally piped down.

"_How much did you win_?" Hardison asked.

"_Uh, twelve thousand, I think_," she said. "_I just didn't expect to win. It's exciting. Free money. This place is great."_

"_It's money that you're going to leave right there and walk away_!" Nate ordered her and they could all sense her frowning.

"_But, it's mine! I was going to put it in the bathtub."_

They could all hear Eliot growl and they knew it must have been hell for the hitter to have to listen to them all fight and not comment.

"_Parker, when someone wins that much money they need identification and they take your picture for promotional use, sometimes they interview you. Do you want that kind of attention_?" Sophie pointed out.

"_No_," she replied glumly. "_Okay, I'll leave. Bye."_

Since they were all still there they could only guess she was saying farewell to the money in the machine.

"_Sorry about that Shawn_," Nate apologized during the next break in the game. "_Look, you've made enough of an impression, you played really well until now. Go all in and let Fenez clean you out. That way he'll remember you fondly when he sees you again tomorrow_."

Shawn sighed, making it clear he didn't like it but they had no choice. Eliot shook his head knowing how much Shawn hated losing.

It took three more hands until he was sure Fenez had better cards than him and Shawn went all-in. Fenez smirked and flipped his queens and licked his lips in triumph when Shawn didn't get the straight he had been expecting to miss.

"Well, I think my luck's run out here. I'm gonna move on for the night. Rene, it's been a pleasure, don't spend it all in one place or on one woman, unless of course it's the right kind of woman," he said with a grin as he got up to leave. He nodded at Eliot and the other security guard with him, "Dweedle dee, dweedle dum."

"_Man, I hope you called Eliot the first one_," Hardison remarked from back at HQ.

"I most certainly did not," Shawn whispered regretfully as he left, Eliot's glare clearly etched into his memory. "Hey buddy, any chance you got an extra bedroom? If Eliot doesn't kill me when he gets home tonight I'm worried whatever army he seems to think is about to attack his apartment, will."

"_He won't kill you_," Hardison defended. "_He might make you do chores or use you for target practice. Can you balance an apple on your head?_"

"_That's enough_," Nate intervened. "_First of all, Eliot can still hear you both. Secondly, good work Shawn, you laid some firm ground for tomorrow night. Bring it in and we'll debrief_."

"Sounds good," Shawn said, encouraged by the praise and quickly getting over his loss at the poker table. He had to keep reminding himself that it had been on purpose and did not reflect on his awesome character.

When he got outside he threw the valet his ticket and felt a presence join him as he waited. He turned to see Parker next to him, hands in her pockets as she stared forlornly across the street.

"Hey," he greeted her.

"Hey," she replied unenthusiastically, clearly planning on driving back with the fake psychic.

"Sorry about your money," he consoled her.

She looked at him hopefully, "Want to make it up to me?"

He stuttered, a million thoughts going through his mind, most of them extremely inappropriate, "Uh, what did you have in mind?"

The valet stopped in front of them.

Parker smiled, "Let me drive?"

Shawn had a grin to match, "Well, I wouldn't be much of a James Bond without my female sidekick, would I? We'll have to work on your name though. How about Ivory Lockpicker?" He nodded to the approaching valet, "The keys go to the lady."

Parker took them and jumped into the car with a squeal of delight as Shawn took shotgun, "Let's get out of here, Ivory."

More than happy to oblige the tires squealed as they pulled out of the lot which prompted Nate to open up the com line once more to ask:

"_Whose car are you driving_?"

Back in the casino they could all hear Eliot laugh.

TBC

Your responses to this story have honestly just been incredible! Beyond anything I ever hoped or imagined. Thank you, all of you. Hope the rest of the story can live up to the praise you've been giving it. This chapter gave me some trouble but I think I made it work in the end.

Special thanks to everyone who tells me what they want to see happen because I usually find a way to work in your suggestions and find something to play with in them. For example, this chapter has more Eliot and Shawn together than I originally planned, but I tweaked the outline after some requests for family time with the Spencer Boys. Hope you're still enjoying! Again, you are all the best!!!


	5. Chapter 5

**Title:** A Man Short (Leverage/Psych crossover) 5/?**  
Rating**: PG for now**  
Summary:** The team is a man short for a job, luckily Eliot has someone he can call, even if he doesn't like it. His cousin, psychic detective Shawn Spencer**  
Spoilers**: None yet.**  
Author's Note**: Takes place after my previous fic "The One That Got Away" – not necessary to read that first though. Hopefully you can all follow along this chapter all right. I used more dialogue and less description than usual because the chapter just didn't seem to need it – hope it doesn't make it confusing.**  
Disclaimer:** I do not own Psych, or Leverage or have permission to use these characters. I make no profit from this fic and mean no harm. Just love.

* * *

It was nearly 4am by the time Eliot got home from working security. He grumbled as he unlocked the door, as a rule he didn't need much sleep a night but still, this job was going to destroy his sleep cycle. He threw his keys down just as he noticed the pineapple with a ribbon wrapped around it sitting on his counter. He quirked an eyebrow and pulled off the note attached.

_Sorry Tweedledum, it was all for the character. Please don't stab me in my sleep. I did the dishes to make it up to you. – Shawn_

Eliot shook his head in disbelief, "I have a dishwasher."

Too tired to spend time contemplating his cousin Eliot headed to bed.

Three hours later he woke up to the sounds of his kitchen being rifled through and his television playing "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" at full blast. He growled and hauled himself out of bed, resisting the urge to grab a knife on the way. Shawn was in the kitchen in his boxers, humming along to the show's theme song as he poured a bowl of Lucky Charms. How Shawn had even gotten his hands on a box of Lucky Charms in Eliot's apartment, the hitter couldn't even fathom.

"What are you doing?" Eliot demanded.

"Hey, morning! What am I not doing? You've got a thousand television channels, one of which plays only old school retro cartoon shows! I may never leave," Shawn announced enthusiastically around a spoonful of cereal as he plopped himself on the couch. "Bugs Bunny is next! Come on, I know you love that rabbit's mastery over his enemies using only his wits and flirting ability. A lot like you!"

"So when you gotta go somewhere you have to be dragged out of bed at eight o'clock at night, but when cartoons are on you get up at 7 in the morning?" Eliot questioned threateningly, eyes still squinted in half sleep.

"Dude, cartoons," Shawn repeated like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Do you know what time I got home last night?" Eliot asked angrily.

Shawn continued to munch his cereal, "I would guess you didn't get home _last night_. I think it was probably early this morning."

"Good guess, now turn that off," Eliot ordered and started to head back to his room.

But Shawn sulked, thoroughly enjoying the theme songs, "What if I got you a pair of earmuffs instead?"

Knowing Shawn was a master at winning or getting around most arguments Eliot ended the whole thing right there. Turning around he picked up the remote off the coffee table, turned off the TV and headed back for his room, taking the remote with him.

Shawn huffed, "You really think that'll stop me?"

"Yes."

Eliot's door slammed and Shawn sat cross-legged on the couch with his cereal, frowning because he really didn't want to get up, "Damn, he's right."

He poked at his cereal and contemplated ways to get the remote back that wouldn't involve bodily harm but then had a better idea. Pulling out his cell phone he dialed one of his newest phone numbers. It only rang twice.

"Parker."

"Ah, Ms. Lockpicker, I may have a job for you. Just how good do you think you are?" Shawn questioned dramatically.

Parker stepped up to the challenge, as expected, "What do you need?"

"A remote control, from Eliot's bedroom, that Eliot is currently sleeping in. I won't lie to you, you probably won't make it out alive," he cautioned her.

He could sense her smirk through the phone, "I'll be right over."

* * *

Hours later the team was assembled at headquarters for a final briefing before the job that night. Sophie, Shawn and Eliot were already suited up for the party while Nate stood at the front going over the powerpoint.

"So, Shawn and Sophie, you will both be at the party but you're not arriving together. Shawn, you will show up and make contact with Rene very casually, chat him up for a minute or two and then Sophie will walk by. You stop her, pretend you didn't know she was going to be there. It can't look like you brought Sophie over just to meet Fenez, it has to look natural," Nate instructed.

Shawn nodded in understanding, "I am the king of casual, have no fear."

Nate ignored him and continued, "Sophie, you have to get close to Fenez, swipe both his keycards or find out where they are – we need one for the door and one for the computer. Get him to take you on a tour of the house if you have to. Shawn, be ready for a trade-off once Sophie gets the cards. Parker will be sneaking in here. If you can't get the cards to her, get them to Eliot. Eliot will make sure the zone is clear while Parker breaks into the office and Hardison ghosts the cameras and the alarm."

Even though Nate had been smart enough not to ask if there were any questions this time Shawn's hand shot up anyway.

"Put your arm down," Eliot grumbled next to him, clearly in a worse mood than usual.

Shawn did so and shook his head, "Forgive him guys, he didn't get much sleep this morning for some reason. So, quick question, what are you doing during all this?"

"I'm in the van with Hardison a few blocks away," Nate replied, relieved it was an actual question this time. "I'll run the job from there. I can't go in because Fenez knows me from when I worked for IYS."

"Bring an air freshener," Parker suggested. "The van smells like slushee."

Eliot glared at Hardison, "Do you purposely spill those things everywhere?"

"The lids man, they're never on tight and the straw, knocks things over," Hardison mumbled, ducking his head guiltily.

"We could get you something with a screw on lid," Sophie suggested.

"Like a sippee cup!" Shawn added, chuckling.

"You're one to laugh, there was cereal on my couch this morning," Eliot reprimanded him.

"Well then, you should be more careful when you're eating," Shawn suggested as he stood up, sensing that the meeting was over. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a car and a party waiting for me."

The team watched him leave while Eliot shook his head in annoyance, "I've been doing bad things for a long time but I never thought that I could murder my own family until this week. He's staying with one of you tonight or I won't be held accountable for my actions … or where his body turns up."

"I gave him my car Eliot, you can put up with your own cousin for another night," Nate pointed out.

"I'd say your car was 'donated against your will' more than it was given," Parker argued. "And he can't stay with me. I don't have furniture."

"Where do you sit?" Sophie asked.

"Wherever I want, there's nothing in my way," Parker answered. "Stuff just clutters up the place."

"You can send him my way if you really have to man," Hardison finally offered. "We can watch 80's movies or something."

"See, now this guy, this guy knows how to be on a _team_," Eliot pointed out with relief. "Thank you."

"All right, if your little drama is solved you have to go work, keep an eye on Shawn. Sophie will be there shortly and we'll be in touch," Nate said in final closing of the meeting.

"Yeah, have fun sitting in your slurpee van," Eliot grumbled as he left.

Nate looked at Hardison, "No beverages in the car tonight."

"You want me to fall asleep on my keyboard, is that it? Man needs his sugar," Hardison defended himself. "And if I can't drink, you can't drink."

That didn't appeal to Nate who was even now cradling a Scotch, "Fine. No slurpees though."

* * *

Later that night Fenez's party was in full swing. The guest list had been electronic so it hadn't been difficult for Hardison to get Shawn and Sophie on the list and into the event. Shawn was currently standing in a group listening to some old guy drone on about the Arctic oil drilling and wished he could drill a hole in his own head. He had been there for about half an hour and was bored out of his mind. He could see Fenez far across the room but hadn't approached him yet because Sophie hadn't arrived to bump into him. Eliot was there though, standing against a wall near a doorway guests weren't allowed through, eyes constantly raking over the place. Not that there was much to see, Shawn mused, this party was fancy and ornate but terrible. The music sucked, the people were boring, the food was unrecognizable. So far nothing about breaking the law was as fun as Shawn had imagined.

When the guy beside him started talking about Polar bears Shawn had enough and broke away from the group. As a rule he didn't usually drink while working but he needed to fit in so grabbed a flute of champagne off a waiter and took a long swig … which he then nearly choked on.

From across the room Eliot spotted Shawn making a face of disgust and whispered roughly, "Do not spit that out Shawn!"

"It's terrible," Shawn grumbled back, eventually forcing himself to swallow and then looking around for something to scrape off his tongue. "Is this the new battery acid flavor?"

"Yeah, I know. The worst part is that one glass probably cost more than you make a week," Eliot told him.

Shawn eyed the glass with distrust, "Well that just isn't right."

"Shawn, I'm just arriving," Sophie announced suddenly over the earpieces. "Do you have eyes on the mark?"

"Yeah, I see him. Should I start my approach? Oh, I sound like a fighter pilot," Shawn mused.

"Give me five minutes," Sophie requested. "I want to get a feel for the room first."

"Understood, loud and clear Red Leader," Shawn replied.

The next voice over the earbuds belonged to Nate, "Eliot, Parker is getting in position to go in once Sophie gets the access cards. How clear will her path be?"

"I haven't been able to get around much. I'll go check it out now before Sophie gets in here," Eliot whispered back. Shawn watched as the hitter left his position and moved across the room to disappear down another hallway, nodding at the other guards as he left.

"You feel like James Bond yet, Shawn?" Hardison asked.

"No, mostly I feel bored. I haven't felt like Bond since I left my car parked outside."

"Excuse me, whose car?" Nate reminded him.

"Semantics. And Eliot did say you guys were going to pay me, right?" Shawn asked hopefully.

"Nate's not going to give you his car," Parker told him flatly. "But I have an extra Monet sitting around my apartment if you want that."

"Uh, thanks but I'm not sure what I would do with it," Shawn replied slowly.

"Okay Shawn," Sophie interrupted again. "Go talk to Fenez, I'll walk by in a minute."

"On it," Shawn murmured and made his approach. Fenez was talking with someone he didn't look all that interested in, giving Shawn the perfect opening.

"Rene, great party. How did you do on the tables last night?" Shawn asked jubilantly, throwing a question at Fenez before the criminal could ask anything about him.

"Mr. Connor. Let's say it was a fruitful night and leave it at that. I always like having some extra pocket change," Fenez said smugly. "I don't recall mentioning my party to you …."

Shawn smiled, backstory prepared, "No, you didn't. But I mentioned you and your mad poker skills to a friend of mine, he recognized your name and said you were having a little shindig tonight. Talked to … Susie was it? Your assistant or something. She put me on the list and here I am. Susie sounded cute on the phone, is she around?"

Rene glared as Shawn took the smallest sip of his disgusting champagne, "Susie's my daughter."

"Oh shit," Hardison muttered while Nate groaned.

Shawn coughed to cover up his gasp and ended up inhaling his drink and coughing for real. He held up a finger as he hacked and finally got enough air to squeak out, "What?"

Thankfully, Rene was laughing, heartily, "Just joking. She's around here somewhere but don't waste your time, there are plenty more … interesting women here tonight."

"Speak of the devil," Shawn said, turning away from Fenez to lightly grab the arm of the woman walking by. "Rita!"

"Daniel! What are you doing here? I thought you were still breaking hearts in Venice," Sophie commented in a straight-American accent. With Fenez being paranoid about trusting strangers they decided it best if Sophie didn't play a foreigner of any kind.

Shawn shrugged, "I had to come back, I ran out of hearts."

"I'll have to warn a few people I know in town then," Sophie replied.

"Oh, sorry, where are my manners. Rita, have you met Mr. Fenez before?" Shawn asked, stepping back to let them shake hands.

"I have not had the pleasure, Mr. Fenez, so nice to meet you," Sophie said with a twinkle in her eye.

He shook her hand lightly, smiling as his eyes raked over her, "Please, call me Rene. Ms …?"

"Lockhart. But call me Rita," she requested.

"Daniel has told me about you. He said the stock market practically bends to your will," he complimented her.

"If only. Sometimes you really have to arm wrestle it and then kick it in the shin if that doesn't work," she joked to which Rene smiled. Her and Shawn's eyes widened slightly when their earpieces went off.

"Guys, we got a problem," Eliot announced.

Sophie couldn't leave Fenez now, the whole operation depended on it, so Shawn thought fast and excused himself.

"Oh, this is rude but I think that might be Jake Turner over there, and if it is he made me a bet in high school that the Spice Girls were not a passing fad and well, I'm owed some money. If you'll excuse me …" Shawn said, bowing out and slipping into the crowd. "Problems don't sound good."

"What's wrong, Eliot?" Nate asked.

"There are more guard outside the office than usual, Fenez must have bumped up his security measures with so many people in the house," Eliot reported.

"What are we looking at?" Parker piped in, her voice echoing as she was currently crawling through a vent.

"The two guards we knew about way at the end of the hall but now there are two more guys right outside the doors. She can't sneak by them, I'm gonna have to take them out," Eliot said.

"You're gonna kill them?" Shawn hissed.

"No," Eliot growled. "I'm just gonna knock 'em out, Shawn."

"That's gonna make our window of opportunity way shorter," Hardison reminded them. "Won't take long for someone to notice two guards are missing and haven't checked in, even if the cameras are fooled."

"We'll just have to work around it and move fast once we get the keycards. Parker, are you in position?" Nate questioned.

"Yeah, I can hop down any time," she replied.

"All right, Eliot head back out to the party. Shawn, go back to Sophie, she probably has the cards by now, if she doesn't help her distract Fenez so she can grab them. Once you've got them get them to Eliot. And be careful people, all of you, no making mistakes because we're rushed," Nate reminded them.

Parker huffed, "Come on, careful's my middle name."

"What's your first name?" Shawn questioned but couldn't wait for the answer as he managed to reach Sophie's side through the crowd. Ever observant he was able to spot at least one keycard in Sophie's hand that she was hiding behind her purse.

"Was it not who you thought it was?" Rene asked when Shawn rejoined them, his eyes squinting slightly in annoyance. He obviously wanted to chat with 'Rita' alone.

"No, it was, he was just able to make a surprisingly strong argument about the Spice Girls' continued influence. Apparently they just went on tour. Rita, you're looking a little dry. Can I get you something? I'm heading over to the bar," Shawn offered.

"You're a dear, red wine," she requested, batting his arm lightly in thanks and slipping the cards into his pocket.

"Sure, be right back," he promised, heading for the bar and then detouring to meet Eliot who was waiting by the doorway. For some reason Fenez had his security guards wear nametags and Shawn read Eliot's as he approached.

"Mr … Carlson? Could you possibly help me find the bathroom in this mess of halls?" he asked casually.

"Certainly. Right through there and on your right," Eliot replied in-character as there were quite a few people in earshot.

"Thanks so much. And for your trouble," Shawn smirked and shook Eliot's hand quickly. He had wrapped a bill around the keycards so it looked like Shawn was giving Eliot a tip.

"Thank you sir, you're …" Eliot looked down and saw it was a one dollar bill. "Far too generous."

"It's not a penny more than you're worth," Shawn replied with a satisfied smirk, walking away as Eliot's jaw clenched. As Shawn mingled back into the line at the bar Eliot pocketed the cards and disappeared down the hallway leading to Fenez's office.

"Got the cards. On my way to clear the zone," Eliot reported, using Nate's preferred terminology.

"Good, Parker, get ready to go as soon as Eliot gives the word. Hardison, cameras?"

"I've got thirty minutes of clean footage looping on each one. Parker and Eliot will be clear as far as the cameras go. As for the alarms, it's not too bad. We got the keycard for the door so I've just gotta shut down the motion sensors in the office. I'm all set but the tricky thing is I can't turn them off completely until they detect something in the office and start to turn on, so Parker you have to tell me the second you walk inside," Hardison reminded her.

"Uh huh," Parker agreed but sounded distracted. They could all hear thumps and strikes in the background.

"Parker, what's happening?" Nate asked.

"Eliot's making a guy punch himself with his own fists," she reported, clearly intrigued by the sight.

"Like that 'stop hitting yourself' game?" Shawn asked from the ballroom.

"Hey! That ain't no game! That is a scarring, terrible experience having someone do that to you!" Hardison exploded suddenly. "Making you punch yourself with your own fist – it hurts your face and your hand."

"Get over it Hardison," Eliot suggested from the end of the hall where he now stood over the two unconscious guards, pulling his hair back into its ponytail. "I gotta go back out to that party, I didn't want to get any blood on me. Parker, you're clear, get down here."

His eyes traveled up to the air duct high in the hallway wall and watched as the grate was silently removed. Two feet appeared next and in seconds Parker was dropped gracefully onto the floor. She looked at the unconscious guards and held up her stopwatch for him, "Took you twelve seconds."

"I've done better," he replied, unsatisfied. He handed her the keycards. "You gonna be okay from here? I gotta go stuff these guys in a closet or something."

"Go, I've got it," she said confidently already scanning the first card as Eliot hefted one guard onto his shoulder. The lock beeped and she touched her ear bud, "Hardison, I'm opening the door."

"Okay, I got ya," he assured her, hand hovering over the enter key to run his program. The motion sensor detected her movement but just before it sent a signal to the alarm he interrupted the transmission. He sighed, the trickiest part over. "You're clear. Woo, man, I don't know why people are scared of Eliot, _I_ am dangerous!"

"Eliot could make you punch yourself," Shawn reminded him.

"Don't even joke about that!" Hardison demanded.

Eliot chuckled even as he grunted from the strain of carrying two men, "Don't worry Hardison, I'd hit you with my own fist."

"You're all heart," the hacker mumbled.

"Okay guys," Nate broke it up. "Parker, how's it going?"

Back in the office Parker used the second keycard to log in to the computer. She didn't have time to check through it herself so plugged a USB drive into one of the ports.

"Hardison, your hacker thing is plugged in. I'm going for the wall safe," she reported. "I'm taking out my earpiece so I can hear the tumblers click."

While Hardison hacked and Parker laid down her com unit, Sophie was still chatting up Fenez at the party, keeping him occupied so he wouldn't notice his cards were missing. He was easy enough to charm in conversation, at least until another man approached them that Sophie recognized from Hardison's powerpoint – it was Philip Romney, one of Fenez's drug pushers on the street.

"Rene," he greeted, then eyed Sophie. "Beautiful party."

"Thank you Philip, I've been enjoying it myself," he replied.

"I hate to steal you away but there are some things we have to discuss, now I'm afraid," Philip told him.

Rene nodded reluctantly, "Of course. We can go to my office. Oh, excuse me, Rita this is an associate of mine, Philip Romney."

"Charmed."

Meanwhile, Nate was yelling, "No, no, no! Sophie, do not let them go to the office! Stall them. Parker! Parker!"

"Her earpiece is out!" Hardison reminded him.

"Eliot," Nate shouted. "Go back and get Parker out of there, now. Fenez is on his way to the office."

Down the hall and around the corner from the office Eliot swore as he tried to fit two unconscious men into a very small closet, "I'm gonna need a second."

"You don't have it!" Nate told him.

"No, you've got it," Shawn piped in suddenly, grabbing two drinks and heading back towards Sophie just as Rene was leaving her.

"You'll have to excuse me for just a minute Rita," Fenez said, turning away.

Shawn started talking as soon as he was close to them, "Rita, I can never remember, did you say red wine or … Oh!"

Just as Shawn passed Fenez he made himself trip, falling into the older, richer man and spilling red wine completely down the front of his white tuxedo shirt.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry, Rene. My feet, two left ones you know. And that is going to stain. Damn. You know what, club soda and a little bit of pineapple will get that right …"

"Don't touch me," Rene demanded when Shawn tried to dab at the stain.

"Daniel, look what you did!" Sophie admonished him, secretly cheering him in his head.

"I know, I'll get you another drink, sorry," he told her.

"If you'll all excuse me, I have to go change," Rene announced then pointed to a waiter. "And somebody get this cleaned up."

As Rene walked away in the opposite direction of his office with Philip close behind, Sophie and Shawn exchanged smiles.

"Parker's clear, Rene's heading the other way," Shawn reported happily.

"Good work Shawn," Nate told him. "Nice improvisation."

"Guards are tucked away," Eliot added as he headed down the hall to retake his security post at the party.

"Got the safe open," Parker announced as well, putting her earpiece back in. "Oh! Coin collection!"

"Just get the records Parker," Nate reminded her. "Hardison, how's the computer?"

He shrugged, "Easy enough. I'm copying everything he's got, we'll sort through it all later. Gonna take another few minutes to transfer it all."

"All right, let's start the walkaway. Shawn, Sophie you're done. Head out to the car, you don't want to be there when Fenez gets back. Eliot, as soon as Parker's out safe make your exit too," Nate instructed.

At the party, Shawn turned to Sophie and offered her his arm, "Shall we?"

"Why thank you," she said as they walked out. "You really did a good job Shawn."

He smirked flirtatiously, "I always love hearing that from a woman at the end of the night."

She slapped his arm, "Don't make me take it back."

"Uh un. No take backs, it's mine."

"Okay, transfer complete," Hardison announced to everyone from back in the van. "You're good to go Parker."

"Consider me gone," she said slyly, removing the flash drive then creeping out of the office and back into the air duct.

Outside the house Shawn sighed as he saw there was a line for valet parking.

"Great, I have to wait even longer to drive my car," he whined.

"_My_ car!" Nate reminded him again.

"Guys, get out. Now!" Eliot suddenly whispered intensely.

"What's going on?" Nate demanded.

"A waiter just found the two guards I took out. Head of security just told us all not to let anyone leave," Eliot reported.

Shawn and Sophie shared a brief look of fear at that particular news.

"Great hiding job Eliot!" Shawn said petulantly, laying blame.

"Hey, he only went in there to get a mop to clean up the wine _you_ spilled," the hitter told him.

"Sophie, Shawn, just get out. We'll discuss it later. Eliot, can you get to them?"

"Working on it. I'm still pretty far," he admitted as he crossed the huge ballroom.

Outside the house Sophie and Shawn saw security guards heading through the doors and ushering people back inside.

"We have to go," Sophie whispered to Shawn, hauling him by the arm to the front of the valet line. If the house wasn't in an isolated neighborhood on the outskirts of town they would have just ran but this far away from the city they were going to need transportation. They were casually making their way to an idling, empty car when one of the security guards jogged up to them.

"Ma'am, sir, I'm going to have to ask you to come back inside," he announced firmly.

Shawn put a hand on Sophie's back and hunched her forward slightly as they continued towards the car, "Really, that's not a good idea. The wife's not feeling great. Too many shrimp puffs, they're full of iodine you know. You should get that looked into, see if anyone else ate them."

Sophie played along and made the obligatory moaning sounds but the guard was unsympathetic and moved to block their way.

"I really have to insist," he said evenly, pulling his jacket away to reveal a gun underneath.

Shawn's eyebrows went up, "And yet I'm still going to have to decline."

When Shawn tried to maneuver Sophie around the other side of the car the guard had enough and grabbed Shawn's arm, twisted it behind his back and brought his gun up under Shawn's chin. Shawn hissed and Sophie yelped as she was pushed away. The guard motioned them both towards the door.

"Back inside, both of you, now," he ordered, pushing the gun harder into Shawn's jaw as motivation.

"Well," Shawn stuttered. "I'm not bored anymore."

TBC

You are all awesome. Again, this fic is crazy fun to write but made all the better by the fantastic readers I have. Thank you all so much for sharing your enjoyment of this fic and any ideas you have. All are greatly appreciated!!! Things get intense next chapter!!! Be there!!!


	6. Chapter 6

**Title:** A Man Short (Leverage/Psych crossover) 6/?**  
Rating**: PG-13, swearing has been introduced**  
Summary:** The team is a man short for a job, luckily Eliot has someone he can call, even if he doesn't like it. His cousin, psychic detective Shawn Spencer**  
Spoilers**: None yet.**  
Author's Note**: Takes place after my previous fic "The One That Got Away" – not necessary to read that first though. And I know I said this would be the last chapter but I apparently lied as there will be one more after this. I hope you will all be happy as this means the story is longer than expected. Enjoy!**  
Disclaimer:** I do not own Psych, or Leverage or have permission to use these characters. I make no profit from this fic and mean no harm. Just love.

* * *

Shawn gulped, feeling some of his cool demeanor leaving him as the gun pressed tightly against his skin.

"Let him go!" Sophie demanded, but didn't move towards the guard holding Shawn at gunpoint.

"Does this not seem a little extreme to you? A little 'I watch too many action movies'?" Shawn asked petulantly, though he knew this was probably a pretty standard thing to happen when attending parties at criminals' houses.

"What's going on? Sophie? Shawn?" Nate demanded over the com line but he was ignored as the situation had their complete attention.

"I said …"

The guard was cut off by a shout from behind.

"Hey!" Eliot yelled as he jogged towards the group. "Boss said to round people up, not take them hostage. Let him go."

"I asked them to come in. They tried to run," the guard explained to Eliot, not releasing his deathgrip on Shawn's arm.

"Is that so?" Eliot asked deeply, sending a suspicious glare Shawn and Sophie's way as he inched closer to the guard.

Shawn couldn't help it, even with a gun under his chin, he started to laugh.

"What's so funny?" the guard demanded, jamming the barrel harder into his jaw.

"Nothing really. It's just, I know something you don't," Shawn smirked, easily getting the man's attention on himself like he wanted. "Well, probably a lot of things you don't, but one thing in particular."

"Oh yeah, and what's that?"

The question was barely out of the guard's mouth before two of his fingers were broken as the gun was wrenched out of his hand from behind. As he grunted loudly in pain Shawn elbowed his way to freedom and turned around just in time to see Eliot headbutt the man into unconsciousness.

Shawn smiled and kneeled down over the body as if to answer the guard's earlier question, "Eliot doesn't like guns."

"You okay?" Eliot asked them both as he cleared the clip from the gun.

"We're all right," Sophie assured him loudly so that the rest of the team could hear her as well over the earbuds.

"Then clear out of there," Nate instructed.

"Speak for yourself," Shawn sulked, rubbing his jaw. "I'm gonna have a bruise, probably develop TMJ syndrome or something."

Eliot growled, "We can only hope. Just get in the car and get out of here, now. I'll try to keep security off your tail."

Sophie was closer to the front of the car they had been heading towards and jumped into the driver's seat.

"Wha … hey! Can I drive?" Shawn asked with puppy dog eyes. Eliot shoved him towards the passenger door.

"Get in Shawn!" he demanded then a hand went up to his security team earpiece and he spoke to someone on the other end, "Yeah, I got the front door covered. Everything looks good. Over. Get going Sophie. I'll meet up with you after you're clear."

Shawn angrily slammed the passenger door while Sophie called out to Eliot, "Be careful!"

Then she turned over the engine and they sped away down the long, winding driveway.

"Is anyone following you guys?" Nate asked them over the comms.

Shawn looked behind them while Sophie drove, "I don't see anyone. I think we made a clean getaway."

"As long as the gate at the end of the driveway's open," Parker commented casually from inside the van with the boys.

"Oh shit," Hardison mumbled, to which everyone's eyes widened.

From back at the house they could hear Eliot talking to the other guards, "I don't know, I just found him like this. I didn't see anyone leaving. Maybe you should check the back."

"And send some guys down to the gate, track down everyone that left in the last ten minutes," another voice instructed from Eliot's end of the line.

"Hardison!" Nate yelled, knowing they all had to get away from this house, quickly.

"Just give me a minute!" he replied, typing. "Please be electronic, please be electronic. Uh, security system, alarms … gate! Right here."

"Um, it's kind of right there, in front of us," Shawn told them as they turned a corner around a hedge and finally spotted the gate way down the driveway. "And it's closed!"

"Working on it, working on it!" Hardison promised.

"Guys," Eliot suddenly whispered. "They're sending cars out to the gate, I can't stop them. Move fast."

"This is your idea of 'keeping them off our tail'?" Shawn asked incredulously.

"I shoulda let you get shot," Eliot mumbled.

"Abracadabra, open sesame!" Hardison cheered as he tapped a final key. "Gates should be opening."

Sophie and Shawn could see that they were opening, slowly. That however did not stop Sophie from speeding up towards them.

"Uh Sophie? Sophie, could we maybe slow down just a tiny bit until it's open all the … whoa!" Shawn's request was cut short as Sophie gunned through the halfway open gates, bringing up sparks on either side of the car as they only just made it out.

"If Eliot says there are guys behind us then I don't plan on sticking around," Sophie told him, eyes straight ahead as she made a sharp turn onto the road.

"Good girl," Nate encouraged her, not wanting them to slow down for anything.

In the security booth Shawn could see a wide-eyed guard yelling frantically into his radio as they drove by. Shawn leaned out his open window and waved, "Great party! We'll have to do it again sometime!"

"Get in here," Sophie demanded, grabbing his coat. "You're making wind resistance."

"Eliot, can you talk to us?" Nate asked. "What's going on at the house?"

It was a few seconds before the hitter could reply, "The guard at the gate just called in. There's a car full of guys going after Sophie and Shawn. They're right behind them. I couldn't make it to the car, I'm going to go grab my bike and go after them."

"So we're definitely being followed?" Sophie clarified.

Shawn looked behind them, "Sure are."

There was a black Mercedes just turning out of Fenez's driveway and barreling down the road after them.

"And hey, look, _their_ car didn't get all chewed up by the gate!" Shawn pointed out sarcastically. Then they both ducked low as a pinging sound hit far too close. "And guns. They also have guns."

"Not helpful Shawn!" Sophie berated him as she took a sharp corner but they both knew there was almost no chance of losing these guys. They were in the isolated, wealthy part of LA meaning the road was straight and clear, no sidestreets to lose them in and no traffic to get caught up in. All they could do was try to outrun them.

Back in the van Nate was cursing from the driver's seat as he pathetically tried to catch up with Sophie and Shawn from where they had been parked on a back road behind Fenez's house.

Parker leaned over the passenger seat from the back and scrutinized the dash, "You're only going sixty."

Nate hit the steering wheel, "I'm fully aware Parker!"

"I'm just saying, they're probably going like 200mph in those sports cars," Parker shrugged.

Nate sighed and yelled, "Hardison!"

"What? You cannot seriously expect me to be able to make a twenty-year old panel van full of sensitive technology be able to go any faster," the hacker argued. "I'm sorry, this car isn't a transformer."

"Just, find them a way home. Anything!" Nate pleaded.

Hardison looked back at his laptop and shook his head at the map he had brought up of the area, "There's nothing Nate. It's a stretch of road for like ten more miles, then there's like two more houses, which will also be gated so they can't turn in there and then it's just more road and more road. All they can do is run!"

"And we can't catch them," Parker added.

"Not what I want to hear people!" Nate yelled. "Eliot?"

"I'm working on it but I don't know if I can catch up," Eliot replied. They could tell by the muffled sound of his voice that he was already on his motorcycle trying to follow the group.

"Did we mention that there are guns?" Shawn shouted frantically from the car, ducking again as another bullet impacted too close. Somehow they hadn't lost the glass in the back window yet.

"Hold on, I'll see what I can do," Eliot announced. Reaching up he clicked his security team earpiece back on to talk to the guards chasing Shawn and Sophie down. "Hey, make sure you bring them back alive guys. Boss is gonna want to talk to them."

"We gotta catch the bastards first," a guard replied to him. "They're flying down this road."

"Just make sure Fenez will be able to find out who they're working for," Eliot reiterated.

"Yeah, yeah," another guard answered and cut off the line.

"That's the best you could do? Keep them alive? How about 'handle with care'? Search them and send them on their way?" Shawn suggested.

"Did they stop shooting?" Eliot asked testily.

"Yes," Sophie responded, glaring at Shawn. "Thank you Eliot."

"They stopped shooting but now they're getting closer," Shawn reported, then smacked himself in the forehead. "Oh my god! I'm in a car chase. I'm in a real car chase … and I'm not even driving!!! Come on! Sophie, switch with me, please! James Bond's sidekicks do not drive."

"Shawn!" Sophie and Eliot shouted simultaneously. "Could you at least try to be helpful?"

"What do you want me to do, make faces at them in the back window? I mean, I will, I just don't see how …"

"Check the glove compartment," Sophie ordered cutting him off.

Shawn did so, almost excited despite the threat of death, "Right, might be something useful in … whoa."

"What is it?" Sophie asked, hoping it was a gun.

"It's drugs, lots of drugs," he reported seriously, holding up several full white baggies. "That or this guy loves his sugar rushes. We stole a drug dealer's car."

Sophie looked in her rearview mirror to see the car full of security gaining on them, "I think that's the least of our worries right now. No gun? What kind of drug dealer doesn't have a gun?"

"Yes, we'll definitely have to have a stern chat with him when we return the car," Shawn replied sarcastically.

"Sophie, we aren't going to make it to you," Nate announced suddenly, his voice dark and apologetic. "Do you have any kind of plan?"

Sophie gulped and looked at Shawn. The fake psychic was blank as well. She shook her head, "No."

"What about turning themselves in?" Parker suggested quietly.

Nate shook his head though, "When Fenez figures out what we stole … he's gonna be willing to kill to get it back."

"I vote not turning ourselves in," Shawn chimed in at that news.

"I'm not sure we're going to have much choice," Sophie announced as she glanced behind. "Shawn put your seatbelt on."

Shawn looked back as well and saw the Mercedes was practically inches behind them. He barely got the latch of the seatbelt to click before they were hit from behind. They both flew forward slightly and the car swerved dangerously but Sophie managed to keep it on the road. It had only been a nudge but at the speeds they were travelling it had almost been enough to throw them off the road.

"Whoa!" Shawn had yelled, prompting Nate to call out.

"Sophie, Shawn! What's happening?" When he got no response he added. "Eliot are you anywhere near them?"

"I don't know," he admitted, having stayed mostly silent as he concentrated on the road. "I don't see them ahead of me."

"Sophie, they're coming back," Shawn warned just as they had righted themselves, but there was nothing Sophie could do, there was no way to avoid the collision.

"Shawn hold on!" she ordered, gripping the wheel tight as the Mercedes bumped them harder than before.

Sophie could feel the tires spin out from under her and knew the steering wheel was more for show than anything at this point. There was no correcting for this collision, the car spun out, and as it did it nicked the Mercedes again in passing, causing that car to swerve as well. Sophie and Shawn jolted with the impact and held on tight as the smell of burning rubber filled the air and they spun down the, thankfully, open stretch of road for several car lengths. Sophie had braked immediately upon being hit and they had slowed considerably by the time the tree loomed in front of them but the front left fender still struck at an incredible force, enough to activate the airbags in the car even before they were finished spinning. They came to rest at the side of the road, Sophie's door nestled, yet not crushed, against the side of the tree and both of them cocooned in the airbags.

They were both stunned for over a minute and neither could hear the frantic voices of their teammates yelling at them as they had both lost their earpieces in the crash. Finally, after coughing and blinking for a few moments Shawn was able to push himself back against the seat behind him and look around.

"Sophie?" he asked tightly when he saw his sidekick wasn't moving, hand reaching out tentatively he touched her shoulder. He had barely made contact with her before she groaned and shook her head.

"Oh god, what happened?" she asked before she got her eyes open, having blacked out for a second.

"It looks like a tree happened," Shawn said, pointing to the trunk visible outside her window. "Are you okay?"

She blinked for a few seconds and seemed to really consider the question before nodding, "Yeah. Yeah, I think so. Nothing feels broken. You?"

"Same. Nothing broken but my heart. This car was beautiful. I will say it has earned every one of its five stars in its crash safety rating though," he joked half-heartedly as he worked at getting his seatbelt undone, a difficult task when said belt has thoroughly bruised your entire chest upon saving your life. "Will she ever live again?"

It took Sophie a second to understand the question, but then she reached out and turned the ignition key to see if they could keep moving. Nothing happened besides steam coming up from under the roof.

"Sorry Shawn, she's gone," she consoled him. The car wasn't going anywhere.

"We should be too," he suggested, reaching over to help her with her seatbelt. As he pulled at the fabric he didn't see her eyes widening.

"Shawn!" she yelled in warning. He turned just as his door was wrenched open and beefy hands reached in to roughly pull him out of the car. "No! Let him go!"

As Shawn was pulled to his feet and thrown against the side of the car he took in the four men around him. Some of them were bloody and they were all were slightly disheveled indicating that their car had also skidded off the road in the collision. That and he could see it coming up out of the ditch behind them. He held up his hands to try to soften their angry expressions.

"You know fellas, I think this has taught us all a valuable lesson about street racing. It's dangerous and should be left to the pro …uh!"

His rant was cut off when the guard nearest to him planted his burly fist deep in Shawn's gut. The fake psychic wheezed and fell back against the car, only able to stay standing because of the vice grip the goon had on his shoulder. Back in the car Sophie yelled again in concern.

"Leave him alone."

"Shut your mouth!" the guard in charge commanded, then handed out orders. "Phil, watch the kid. Johnny, get her out of there."

As 'Johnny' worked to get Sophie out of the car the last guard pulled out a cell phone and called back to the house.

"Hey, it's Alex, yeah we got them. Alive, yeah but both cars are totaled. Send someone down to pick us up, will ya? All right. See you in a few minutes," he reported and then hung up. "Ramirez is sending a car for us and the runaways here."

Shawn finally got a good breath in past the burning in his lungs and watched as Johnny tugged Sophie out of the car. She only fought him half-heartedly, knowing they were outnumbered and she should save her energy for later.

"Move it bitch," he ordered her as he dragged her out. When she was standing she looked at Shawn and made brief eye contact, checking him over and pleading with her eyes for him not to do something stupid. He might have been able to do that too, if Johnny hadn't been a total asshole.

"Hey, this one's not too bad on the eyes," Johnny leered as he snaked an arm suggestively around Sophie's waist to keep her in place. "How long do we have until Ramirez gets here?"

Sophie tried to slap him but he caught her wrist easily and laughed as she struggled. Shawn on the other hand intended on killing him.

"Son of a bitch!" he yelled, lunging forward, surprised by the ferocity of his own protective anger. He had barely gone two steps though before another one of the guards intercepted him and sent him to the ground with a hard punch across the face. Shawn dropped instantly, striking his head on the car behind him as he fell and then writhing in pain on the ground until a boot connected with his ribs. After that his mind blanked as he had the wind knocked out of him for a second time in as many minutes.

"No! Stop it, please!" Sophie begged, still trapped in Johnny's grasp. The guards laughed at her cries but backed off as Shawn was no longer moving.

Shawn wasn't completely unconscious, more zoning in and out while trying to concentrate on finding out where all the oxygen went. Head pressed against the ground and hands clutching at the dirt beneath him, he never heard the sound that drew everyone's attention.

"What is that?" Johnny asked. "Ramirez couldn't have gotten here already."

"Don't know," Phil answered.

All four guards watched the road behind them where the sound was coming from, waiting to see what would come around the turn. Sophie held her breath and didn't comment.

When a single black Ducati came around the corner all four guards visibly relaxed, with one even turning his back, thinking it was simply a passerby out for a drive. Sophie almost felt sorry for him.

Almost.

It wasn't until the motorcycle got close, far too close to be stopped, that any of the guards realized the bike and its rider were coming straight for them.

"Marty, move it!" Johnny yelled out in warning to the guard who had his back turned and was furthest out on the road.

Marty turned as Eliot was barreling down on him and he even managed to step a foot or two out of the bike's way, but Eliot was not feeling merciful and turned, following the man and clipping him in the leg with the powerful vehicle. Marty fell to the ground with a cry and Eliot didn't hesitate to run over the man's leg, crushing his ankle and ensuring he was out of the fight.

"Jesus Christ," Phil, the guard who attacked Shawn muttered, stepping away and pulling his gun.

Eliot ducked down low and swerved on purpose, trying to let his bike take the barrage of bullets. He felt one nick his helmet and it took all his concentration not to wipe out. Phil was standing out in the open firing at Eliot, prepared to jump out of the way if the hitter charged at him like he had Marty. Eliot did head for him, but didn't try to run him down, instead he turned at the last second and let the bike slide into Phil so he had no time to jump clear. The man wasn't crushed but thrown back several feet where he landed unconscious on the ground.

Eliot quickly surveyed the rest of the scene as he shifted the bike. The last two were too close to Sophie and Shawn to use the bike, he would have to dismount. As he saw Shawn on the ground unconscious and Sophie being manhandled by one of Fenez's goon, he knew it was the closest he had come in a long time to completely losing control.

He jumped off the bike and let it fall to the ground as he pulled off his helmet. The guard closest to him brought his gun up and Eliot threw the helmet at his head, stunning the man long enough for him to get in close. Eliot kicked out the man's knee, twisted his arm until he dropped his gun and then punched him in the throat, walking away before he even hit the ground.

This left only Johnny who had released Sophie to try to shoot the hitter in the back while he fought his other opponents. Sophie however wasn't about to let that happen and quickly pulled off her shoe and struck Johnny on the back of the head with the hard wooden sole.

Johnny stumbled forward, not unconscious, merely angry and sore. He turned to raise his gun to her and muttered, "Bitch."

Before he could pull the trigger though two hands wrapped around his jaw and shoulder and then pulled in opposite directions. He fell bonelessly to the ground, his neck broken. Nobody cared.

Eliot jogged towards them, touching Sophie's arm quickly and asking, "You okay?" even as he knelt by Shawn's side.

She nodded tearfully and knelt with him, "Just bruises."

"Shawn? Can you hear me?" Eliot asked when he got Shawn rolled on his back and saw his cousin's eyes were half open. He growled when he saw the bruise already forming on Shawn's left cheek.

"Eliot?" Shawn questioned from the ground, squinting and in a haze. "Did I save us?"

Eliot pressed a hand against Shawn's chest to keep him on the ground but nodded, "Yeah, you did good kid."

"Thought I did. That sounds like me," Shawn slurred, head still lolling.

"Shawn," Eliot said loudly, snapping his fingers to get Shawn's focus. "You hurt anywhere else?"

"Um … does everywhere count?" he replied tightly as he tried to shift off the ground.

"One of them kicked him in the ribs a few times," Sophie told Eliot softly.

"All right, hold still," Eliot instructed, running his hands down Shawn's ribcage.

"Ow, ow! Why?"

"I have to check if they're broken," Eliot ordered, trying to hold Shawn still without hurting him worse.

"If they are broken how could applying pressure to them possibly be helpful?" Shawn questioned and Eliot figured that since he had the strength and breath to argue he couldn't be hurt too badly.

"All right, fine. Just stay there a sec while I talk to Sophie," Eliot told him but Shawn shook his head and started to push himself up.

"No, I'm fi …" The world started to spin when he got a few inches off the ground so he let himself flop back down. "All right, I'll stay here."

Shaking his head Eliot led Sophie out of earshot of Shawn.

"Do you think he's okay?" Sophie asked quickly, feeling responsible for Shawn being hurt. She wasn't the only one.

"He seems all right, but it's hard to tell if he's concussed or just being Shawn," Eliot answered, then added suddenly. "Can you ride a bike?"

"In this dress?" she replied with a raised eyebrow, indicating the tight fit.

"I'm serious."

"Yes, I can drive a motorcycle," she assured him.

"Good, cause I need you to get Shawn out of here," he whispered.

Sophie's eyes widened, "What about you?"

He shook his head, "Bike can only take two and I ain't leaving either of you here when there are more guys heading down from Fenez's as we speak. I'll be all right."

"Eliot no …" she implored not wanting to leave him alone but having to admit to herself that there was no other solution. Both of the cars had been completely destroyed in the crash.

"Sophie please," he said with a sincere passion she hadn't heard from him since Kentucky. "I'm the only reason he's here but this is my world, not his. He doesn't belong here and I need you to get him home. I'll be all right, now please, go."

She sighed but nodded unhappily, "All right, but be careful. He won't forgive himself if something happens to you and neither will I."

"I'm touched, but really, these guys should still think I'm security, I'll be fine," he assured her as he jogged back over to Shawn. Knowing they had lost valuable time he gave no warning as he grabbed his cousin around the shoulders and hauled him to his feet. "All right Shawn, nap time's over. We gotta go."

"Oh god," Shawn mumbled as he stood shakily.

Eliot grimaced, "If you're gonna puke, don't."

"Your advice … always … eloquent," Shawn mumbled, skipping over words since his stomach contents seemed desperate to escape his insides.

Eliot dragged him over to the motorcycle where Sophie was already mounted. In order to straddle the seat she had ripped a slit in her dress so high that Eliot had to look away out of modesty.

"Leg up," he ordered to Shawn as he helped him onto the seat behind Sophie. Thankfully Shawn drove a bike of his own so mounting one was practically second nature.

"Oh, a chauffeur," Shawn commented, wrapping his arms around Sophie's waist.

Sophie looked back at him before they left, "If those hands drift out of designated areas then you're walking."

"It would totally be worth it," Shawn mumbled, still managing to be charming with a possible concussion.

"Either of you got your earbuds?" Eliot asked when they were set to go.

Shawn shook his head, "I don't hear anything but ringing."

"I lost mine too," Sophie told him.

Eliot took his out and gave it to her, "Here, take it. Nate's been yelling for you anyway, it's distracting. I'll catch up in a few minutes."

"Wait. What?" Shawn asked suddenly, his hazy mind finally picking up that Eliot wasn't coming with them.

"Be careful," Sophie said quickly, ignoring Shawn and driving away before he could protest again.

"Wait!" Shawn yelled again as they tore down the road but they were going so fast that Eliot didn't even hear him and just waved briefly. Shawn scowled and leaned forward to yell in Sophie's ear. "How's Eliot getting back?"

"Nate will pick him up," Sophie assured him.

"In what? The slow van of death? There are more guys coming down from the house right now! They're gonna get there first."

"Yes, and as far as they know Eliot is just another security guard. He'll be fine!" she shouted but her voice was just a little too loud to be believed.

Shawn eyed her critically, "Who you trying to convince, me or you?"

Sophie stared straight ahead. From the van Nate made a tired suggestion, "Just keep driving Sophie."

* * *

It took about five minutes for the second car of Fenez's men to arrive. Eliot kept busy in the meantime. He knew if he tried to hide then the guards would just keep driving until they ran into Sophie and Shawn so he stayed where he was, on the road out in the open. First, he went up to each guard and made sure they were thoroughly unconscious, in one case dead. The last thing he needed was for one of them to wake up and point out to the other goons that he had been the one that attacked them.

Next he covered his face and clothes in dirt to look beaten up. He could hear a car approaching just as he messed up his hair.

When another black car appeared from around the corner Eliot tried not to roll his eyes at the cliché and instead focused on the windows – it looked like there were three men inside. Adopting a fake limp and a grimace he moved into the middle of the road and waved the car down. The driver jumped out as soon as they were pulled over, eyes wide with disbelief. Eliot looked behind him at the scene, one car in a ditch, one wrapped around a tree and four men laid out on the ground – it was pretty impressive.

"Jesus, Carlson, what the hell happened?" the driver asked. Eliot was pretty sure this was Ramirez.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you. They had help waiting for them I guess, I don't really remember," Eliot replied, clutching the back of his head as though he had been hit there.

"Christ, Fenez is gonna be pissed," the guard in the passenger side commented.

Ramirez agreed and motioned to Eliot, "Get in the car, we gotta catch them."

Eliot nodded and limped over slowly. He had no intention of getting in the car and leading these guys to Shawn and Sophie but if he could get close he could take them out easily. He was almost in position to make his move when the back door of the car opened revealing the final guard - he was cradling his right hand. Eliot flinched when he recognized him, it was the guy he had knocked out back at the house earlier and he looked angry.

"Shit," Eliot tried to rush him and maintain the element of surprise but it was no use, the guard had recognized his voice from inside the car and had come out ready. His gun was raised before Eliot could take a step.

Then he fired with no warning.

Eliot gasped and stumbled backwards, his right hand reaching up to clutch at the blood flowing down his chest.

"I hear you don't like guns," The broken-fingered guard taunted as he kept his weapon trained on Eliot and smirked, "It's understandable I guess."

* * *

Three minutes earlier.

"Sophie, pull over, something's wrong," Shawn moaned, clutching at his stomach where he had been kicked.

"Shawn? What is it?" Sophie asked, able to feel him trembling against her back.

"Please, pull over," he requested tightly, jaw clenched. "I have to get off."

"What's going on?" Nate asked worriedly.

"I think Shawn's sick, or hurt worse than Eliot thought," Sophie reported as she pulled the bike over to the side of the road. She jumped off first and put an arm around him to help him get down. "Hold on."

However, instead of sliding off the seat Shawn pushed himself forward to grab the handlebars, then simultaneously revved the engine and accelerated forward. Sophie easily backed clear away from the bike and watched wide-eyed as Shawn made a miraculous recovery and circled the bike around to head the other way. Her jaw dropped – she had been played.

"Shawn no!" she yelled, chasing half-heartedly.

"Sorry Sophie, leave no man behind! Same rule applies to grumpy cousins," Shawn called out with a wave then set his sights straight ahead and back to Eliot.

"Shawn!" Sophie yelled again futilely to his retreating back then she covered her mouth in fear. "Eliot's going to kill me."

"Is Shawn dead?" Parker asked suddenly.

"No," Sophie sighed. "He took the bike, he's going back for Eliot."

"Shawn? Shawn's going back for him?" Hardison asked incredulously. "The guy who can't fight, who isn't armed and probably has a concussion went back to save _Eliot_."

"I never said it was a smart plan, I said that's what he did!" Sophie argued. "And he doesn't have an earpiece for us to yell at him."

"Neither does Eliot for us to warn him that he's coming," Parker pointed out, then looked at Hardison. "Do you think this'll be a good surprise or a bad surprise?"

"I think this will be very bad," Hardison replied.

TBC

You are all awesome. Again, this fic is crazy fun to write but made all the better by the fantastic readers I have. Thank you all so much for sharing your enjoyment of this fic and any ideas you have. All are greatly appreciated!!! Sorry for the delay. But there really is only one more chapter after this. The action-parts took longer than expected.


	7. Chapter 7

**Title:** A Man Short (Leverage/Psych crossover) 7/7**  
Rating**: PG-13, swearing and violence**  
Summary:** The team is a man short for a job, luckily Eliot has someone he can call, even if he doesn't like it. His cousin, psychic detective Shawn Spencer**  
Spoilers**: None really**  
Author's Note**: Takes place after my previous fic "The One That Got Away" – not necessary to read that first though. The Very Last Chapter!!!**  
Disclaimer:** I do not own Psych, or Leverage or have permission to use these characters. I make no profit from this fic and mean no harm. Just love.

* * *

"Tony, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Ramirez demanded after Tony shot Eliot without warning.

Eliot growled and somehow managed to stay standing despite the bullet lodged in his shoulder. He had no doubt that Tony had been aiming for his chest but thankfully the guy was shooting with his left hand since Eliot had broken two of the fingers on his right, so his aim was pretty off. Still though, he'd rather not give him a second chance.

"He's working with them," Tony told the others. "Bastard jumped me back at the house when I tried to stop his partners. Messed up my hand and knocked me out."

"Is that so?" Ramirez replied, turning to Eliot suspiciously and bringing up his gun to join Tony's. "What do you have to say for yourself, Carlson?"

"Not too much," Eliot admitted then pulled his gaze from Tony back to Ramirez. Tony and the other guard, Fyfe, were still back by the car but Ramirez had taken a step closer to the hitter. He was the kind of idiot that Eliot liked, the kind that got too close.

Snapping a hand around Ramirez's wrist Eliot pulled the man closer and twisted his arm, forcing him to drop his gun. Tony and Fyfe responded immediately and opened fire. Eliot spun Ramirez around and used him as a shield. As bullets collided with the guard's chest Eliot could see that the other two were backing even further away from him meaning Eliot wouldn't be able to disarm them without getting shot again. He had no choice but to take cover so he pulled Ramirez with him a few steps to the ditch behind him where the other car was still smoking.

"Shoot him!" Tony demanded angrily but still didn't move closer.

Dropping Ramirez's now-slack body Eliot ran the last few feet, dove into the ditch and tried not to register the burning he felt across his side as he landed and ducked behind the wrecked car.

"That son of a bitch!" Fyfe exclaimed in anger as Eliot ran and Ramirez dropped to the ground dead from their bullets. "Come on!"

"Hold up!" Tony ordered, stopping Fyfe from running after Eliot and then pulling him down close to whisper in his ear, "This guy's good but he's unarmed or he would have fired back. Look what he did to the boys, we get close to him he could take us out."

"So what do you want to do?" Fyfe asked.

Tony took a moment to inspect Eliot's cover – he had to have been hunched behind the front of the car, there was nowhere else to hide in the entire area of flat road and grassy hillsides. Then something else caught his eye and he smiled. "I got an idea."

Ducked low behind the hood of the car at the bottom of the ditch, Eliot growled as he pressed a hand against his bleeding shoulder. A second bullet had nicked his hip but hadn't penetrated the bone and wasn't bleeding too bad so he ignored it for now. He was losing blood fast though and his left arm wasn't responding nearly as well as he would like. It also hurt like hell but he pushed that to the back of his mind for now. At the moment he was more worried about the gunmen behind him and why they had stopped shooting. Glancing up he tried to see through the windshield of the car to see where they were. Looking up from his angle below he could just see the tops of their heads. They were still on the road, apparently just talking but they quickly seemed to reach a decision and opened fire again.

Eliot ducked down and was confused when none of the bullets came anywhere close to him. It seemed like they were just wasting their ammo.

"Maybe they're hoping I'll run and then they can get a clear shot," he thought briefly but then his eyes widened as the smell of gasoline fumes finally registered in his mind. The gas tank of the car must have ruptured when it crashed, meaning if one of the bullets breached the tank and sparked ….

"Shit!" Eliot mumbled and raced away from the potential bomb but it was too late. The car exploded behind him.

* * *

On the road Tony and Fyfe ducked down behind their own car as the Mercedes exploded, sending fire and shrapnel in all directions for several seconds. The blast had their ears ringing but they were otherwise fine as they emerged a few moments later to inspect the damage.

Fyfe waved a hand in front of his face to clear the smoke that the wind was billowing towards them. Turning to Tony he yelled to be heard over the buzzing sound in their ears, "You think that got him?"

"It at least slowed him down if it didn't kill him," Tony replied as they approached the ditch cautiously in case the car should explode again somehow. Most of the surrounding grass was singed or burning and the car was a smoldering mess that had collapsed sideways in the ditch, surrounded by smoking metal and broken glass.

"We gonna look for him in that?" Fyfe asked, coughing as he inhaled the metallic smoke.

"Won't have to look long," Tony answered with a malicious grin. He was shielding his eyes from the worst of the smoke but also pointed through the haze to the right of the wreckage. Fyfe followed his gaze to see Eliot's unconscious body laid out in the grass facedown, covered in ash and not moving.

"Great, let's go bring him back to Fenez, boss will want to talk to him," Fyfe pointed out.

Tony grimaced though, still angry about his injuries and raised his gun again, "I'd rather just shoot him here."

"Hey!" Fyfe warned. "You really want Fenez to … what is …"

They both stopped and turned as they realized that the high-pitched sound they had been hearing wasn't just from the ringing in their heads.

Shawn had done a lot of stupid, dangerous things in his life. So many in fact that he couldn't even remember them all, though he thought Gus and his dad probably had a list somewhere, but he had to admit that what he was doing right now probably topped them all; driving unarmed and injured towards dangerous gunmen on a stolen motorcycle to save his international thief cousin. Well, at least his life was never boring.

As he sped down the road away from Sophie he had started to panic when he saw the explosion from over a mile away. He knew it had to have been a car blowing up unless Fenez's men had brought some explosives with them for some reason. The logical part of his mind tried to tell him that Eliot easily could have been killed in that explosion, that he could be driving into a deathtrap with no backup but Shawn was a master at ignoring all kinds of logic. Instead he stared straight ahead and convinced himself that this was all part of some plan Eliot had that he would explain to Shawn as soon as he picked him up, which should be any moment now.

"Eliot, you better still be alive," he grumbled mentally as he came up a hill.

Unfortunately as Shawn got closer he could see two men standing in the smoky wreckage and they were both carrying guns and had short-cropped hair, meaning neither could be his lion-maned cousin. But it also looked like they were aiming their weapons at something in the ditch, most likely a person that could most definitely be his cousin and that just wasn't cool. Gritting his teeth Shawn revved the engine and drove straight for the two hitmen.

He may not have had a gun but it didn't mean he didn't have a weapon.

The explosion actually covered his approach until the last few moments when he was almost on his prey. The two gunmen turned around when he was a dozen yards away and their eyes widened as the motorcycle barreled down on them.

"Son of a …!" Fyfe yelled in surprise and brought his gun up to fire at the bike, quickly joined by Tony. Shawn didn't have a helmet or any kind of protection so made an executive decision when the bullets started flying to jump off the missile he had launched to make himself less of a target.

"Bonzai!"

It wasn't graceful but he managed to throw himself clear of the bike and land in the grass of the ditch. The soil was only slightly less forgiving than the asphalt would have been but he still felt the wind knocked out of him as he tumbled down to the bottom of the ditch, rolling over smoking bits of glass and metal.

Up on the road Fyfe and Tony swore loudly as the rider-less bike tipped over and slid towards them at well over eighty miles per hour.

"Move!" Tony yelled as they both tried to run clear but the bike toppled them like dominoes as the wheels took them down at the legs and then the whole bike grinded over them once they were down.

At the bottom of the ditch Shawn came to a halt, coughing and gasping for air as he tried to keep his eyes glued to the road.

"I really hope that worked," he thought to himself. "Or else Eliot's going to kill me when we get up to heaven, and I don't know where we'd go then."

After almost a minute without detecting any movement or sounds Shawn risked pushing himself slowly up to his feet. It took longer than he would have liked as he was now cradling his right arm and limping from his fall but eventually he was standing up and could just see that both the guards were laid out on the road unconscious, covered in skid marks. He breathed a sigh of relief which turned into a cough as he inhaled smoke.

"Yes! Woo! Please, hold your applause I know that was amazingly awesome but … Eliot?"

Shawn felt his blood freeze when he finally saw the hitter. He was a half dozen yards away covered in soot, blood and glass and not moving.

"Eliot!" Shawn shouted again as he limped over to his cousin. An intense spasm of pain shot through his leg as he fell to his knees but he ignored it as he clutched Eliot's shoulder and rolled him over. He grimaced as his fingers slipped in the blood soaking the hitter's shirt. "No, no, no, hey Eliot, come on. Open your eyes buddy, you can't die on me it would totally put a hamper on my 'saving your life' bragging rights. "

Shawn rambled nervously as he took in the sight of all the blood Eliot was losing from what was obviously a bullet wound in his shoulder and another smaller one closer to his hip. The hitter's eyes were closed and there was a lump forming on his left temple where he must have hit his head in the explosion. The most important thing was that he was breathing, but it was shallow. Shawn pressed one hand hesitantly onto the bullet wound to slow the bleeding and used the other to tap Eliot's cheek.

"Come on Eliot, yell at me, insult me, I'll even accept a grunt, just give me some help here."

Shawn's efforts were rewarded when Eliot groaned, flinched away and breathed in deeply. The air was still riddled with smoke which caused the hitter to start coughing but this also woke him up faster as his battered body responded to the painful hacking motions.

"There we go, that's what I like to see, movement and consciousness. We're gonna be fine," Shawn assured him as he tore off his coat to make a bandage for Eliot's shoulder.

Eliot's eyes opened as he was coughing and he looked around in confusion that grew worse when he saw who was with him.

"Shawn?"

"Yeah, so, you remember me, huh," Shawn replied with fake disappointment to cover up his nervousness. "I was hoping that you'd get amnesia from that bump on your head and then I could convince you that you were my manservant, Ricardo."

"What?" Eliot asked, his mind not clear enough for Shawn's jokes. He looked around again slowly as recent events started coming back to him. "What are you doing here?"

"Right now, a very bad impersonation of George Clooney on ER. Stop moving, dammit, you've been shot!" he ordered in a surprisingly serious tone.

Eliot did as he was told and laid back down but wasn't as worried as his cousin, "It didn't hit anything vital, I'll be fine."

"Hey, who's doing the George Clooney impression here? I'll decide if you're fine," Shawn replied as he tied off the bandage tightly, trying to keep his hands busy to cover up the fact that he had no idea how to respond to this much blood.

Eliot grabbed his wrist weakly to make him look at him, "Shawn, seriously, I'll be fine. I've had worse. Now help me up, we gotta get out of here."

But Shawn pushed him down, "Yeah, moving is not something you are about to do just now. Besides, if you're worried about those guys with the guns I took care of them."

"_You_ took care of them?" Eliot repeated incredulously.

Shawn shrugged, "Your bike helped. There may have been a mid-road collision, we'll exchange insurance information later, like when you're not bleeding."

"You okay?" Eliot asked quietly, squinting to try to get his concussed eyes to see Shawn a little clearer.

"I'm fine. Chicks dig scars, right? Well, I'm not going to have any of those so you don't have to worry," Shawn told him and then finally helped him sit up as he managed to get the bleeding as under control as it could be.

"Good," Eliot mumbled as he took in their surroundings including the smoldering car and unconscious guards. His mind was still a little hazy so he looked to Shawn, "You did all this?"

"No, the car was like that when I got here so I guess that was part of your genius plan. The unconscious guards though, all me," Shawn gloated, then grimaced as he tried to stand.

"What's wrong with your knee?"

"Nothing, I must have banged it on a rock when I fell or maybe a muffler, who knows," Shawn muttered as he watched Eliot stand up steadier than him. Despite the two bullet wounds both the hitter's legs were uninjured.

"You sure you should be moving around?" Shawn asked, brow furrowed in concern.

"Can't stay here and wait for an ambulance. And unconscious guards or not, we gotta get going," Eliot replied as he started to lead the way out of the ditch. Then he turned around so quickly Shawn nearly fell backwards as a finger suddenly pointed in his face, "And just so you know, coming back for me was a stupid, idiotic, amateur move Shawn that could have gotten us both killed and if you ever do anything like this again I'll kill you, and then I'll tell your dad."

Shawn just met Eliot's eye and waited for it. The hitter broke eye contact first, nodded once and grunted, "Thanks."

A grin broke Shawn's face, "No problem, you're welcome. It's nothing to be ashamed of you know, having to be saved all damsel-in-distress style. You've got the hair for it."

Eliot wanted to yell at his cousin but he was too busy panting from exertion and trying not to yell out in pain. The ditch was steep and climbing out with two bullet holes and a concussion was proving rather difficult especially when he fell forward and braced himself with his injured arm.

Seeing him fall and tense Shawn asked from behind, "Eliot are you o…ah!"

When he tried to rush to his cousin's side Shawn accidentally pulled at his injured knee and it locked up on him, which sent him toppling forward as well.

Essentially the two cousins wound up stuck in the ditch for several moments, panting in pain and unable to move any further.

Eliot huffed in disbelief, "Well, aren't we a sorry sight."

"Speak for yourself," Shawn hissed. "I regret nothing. This whole trip will take up at least two pages in my scrap book, maybe three."

"Can you make it up?" Eliot asked seriously to which Shawn nodded.

"Yeah, there's a trick to it. I hurt this same knee in my last motorcycle accident, just gotta keep it from bending," Shawn explained even as he started to move up the incline, the conversation distracting him from the pain. Eliot accepted this and focused on moving forward himself. It was another minute of silence before they reached the top with an exhausted huff each.

After a moment of looking around Eliot's brow furrowed and he turned to his cousin suspiciously, "Shawn, where's Sophie?"

"Hmm?" Shawn asked, pretending not to have heard him as he inspected his leg.

Eliot repeated very clearly, "Where's. Sophie?"

"Oh, Sophie! I uh, may have stolen the bike and left her abandoned, alone on the side of the road so I could come save you," Shawn spouted out. "But hey, look how alive you are!"

"Shawn!" Eliot fumed in anger.

"You know, that's exactly what she said when I drove away. Kind of like a cheerleader, rooting me on, yelling my name, 'Shawn, Shawn, Shawn'. It was similar to the end of the movie Rudy. Very emotional."

"Come on!" Eliot ordered, scowling in anger and pain as he headed towards the only functioning vehicle, the guards' car. "We gotta go get her. What the hell were you thinking?"

"Uh, that you were in trouble and that I could be totally awesome and come help you," Shawn replied as he followed slowly behind, struggling with his own injuries.

"By abandoning Sophie?"

"I feel she was secretly supportive of the plan," Shawn said but then they both stopped in their tracks when they heard the distinct sound of a vehicle approaching. Shawn moaned, "What is this Star Wars? Does this guy clone his goons so he has a neverending supply?"

But Eliot shook his head, "Nah, that ain't Fenez's men."

From around the corner a white panel van appeared soaring as fast as its mediocre engine would take it. Eliot knew Nate would be driving and waved his good arm to signal they were all right.

"I don't think you really have to wave, we're kind of hard to miss," Shawn muttered, pointing to the wreckage behind them.

Eliot turned to him and his eyes caught sight of his bike for the first time where it lay on its side further up the road.

He tried hard not to growl, "Shawn, did you wreck my bike?"

"Yes," Shawn said unapologetically. "But I also saved your life."

"And I know you're going to be real humble about that too," Eliot muttered, turning to walk further onto the road where the van was screeching to a halt. As the side door opened to reveal Parker and Hardison, Nate jumped out of the front with a hand to his ear.

"Yeah Sophie, we got them. They're … standing," he reported to her over the comms, hesitating on the description of the two ragged looking Spencer Boys.

"Whoa, you two are a mess. You guys all right?" Hardison asked as he immediately moved to take Eliot's good arm and help the hitter walk. It wasn't encouraging that Eliot didn't resist and leaned half his weight onto the hacker.

"I think my pain speaks for me when I say no, not really," Shawn answered, then his eyebrows rose and he smiled charmingly when Parker got close and put an arm around his waist to help him. "But suddenly I'm feeling much, much better."

Oblivious, Parker released him with a shrug and let him walk on his own, "Oh, okay then."

Shawn nearly fell over and Eliot chuckled. Nate shook his head and helped the fake psychic towards the van instead.

"Is Sophie okay?" Eliot asked before Nate could put forward the same question to him.

"She's fine, we'll go pick her up now, she was more worried about the two of you," Nate said, looking them over quickly. "And with good reason. Eliot … have you been shot twice?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure. At least twice," he muttered in response, feeling his energy wane with the information that he and the team were safe. "I'll be all right."

Meanwhile, Shawn tried to lean closer to Parker and whispered, "Hey, I saved Eliot's life you know."

Parker laughed and petted him on the head as she spoke to him like she was humoring a small child, "Oh, of course you did."

"No, seriously, I saved him!" Shawn repeated, mortified.

She nodded in her own version of sympathy as she still didn't believe him, "Uh huh, sure. You hit your head when those guys were beating you up earlier, right?"

Before Shawn could stutter out a response Eliot interrupted the extremely entertaining conversation, "Hey Parker, wanna do me a favor?"

"You're not getting my blood," she answered swiftly, pulling back her arms like he might try to stick a needle in her then and there.

"No, just … grab my bike. Drive it back to town for me. I don't want to leave it here, it might trace back to us somehow," Eliot explained to which Parker perked up immediately.

"Oh, then yes. I will definitely do you a favor," she smirked and ran back to pull the motorcycle upright.

"Hardison, how far to the hospital?" Nate asked as he helped Shawn make the step up into the van.

"Not very close," Hardison admitted, having looked it up during their excruciatingly long drive. "You guys gonna be able to hold out?"

"Yeah, I'm good. Take Shawn then you can drop me off at my place, I'll patch myself up," Eliot said tiredly as he took a seat on the floor of the van, clutching his injured shoulder.

"Well, if he's not gonna go I don't see why I have to," Shawn replied petulantly to which Eliot glared at him.

"You're going," Eliot ordered firmly, but added. "It's not a competition Shawn. Gunshot wounds get reported to the cops, that's attention we really don't need right now. When we get there tell the staff you got mugged."

"You are aware you have two bullets in you?" Shawn pointed out.

"Two bullet holes, only one bullet's actually in me, the other was a graze," Eliot explained.

"Oh well then, why were we ever concerned?" Hardison asked sarcastically.

Shawn still didn't seem pleased about Eliot not going to a hospital but before he could voice his concerns Parker pulled up to the open side door on Eliot's Ducati.

"I'm going to pick up Sophie!" she announced with a wave just before she sped off. "See you back at the office! Yee haw!"

"She is incredible," Shawn muttered absently.

"Tell me about it," Hardison agreed just as quietly.

Shawn coughed and there was a moment of awkward silence before Hardison backtracked over his own words and smiled a little, "No, seriously, tell me about it. I want to hear about you saving Eliot's life over there."

"Hardison," Eliot growled.

Shawn grinned, "Well, when I got there Eliot was crying, actually, bawling is the word I'm looking for, Eliot was bawling …"

Nate shook his head as he got back into the driver's seat and wondered if they would all survive the trip to the hospital.

* * *

Sophie ended up declining Parker's offer of a drive, needing to see Shawn and Eliot safe for herself. Once she got in the van the bickering ended quickly as Shawn felt slightly ashamed for leaving her alone and Eliot was barely maintaining consciousness. It took forty-five minutes to reach the hospital. Hardison agreed to go in with Shawn so Nate and Sophie could take care of Eliot back at his apartment. As the hacker helped the younger Spencer out of the van, Shawn whispered to him conspiratorially, "You know Eliot's practically unconscious, we could make him go inside pretty easily."

But Hardison shook his head, "They'd sedate him before they operated on him and then we'd never be able to sneak him out before the cops ran his fingerprints. It's safest this way, he knows what he's doing."

Hardison tried to sound reassuring but Shawn still looked hesitant and concerned as he shot one last look at Eliot before the van door closed.

"All right, let's do this," Shawn said as they limped towards the door. "Oh, but I was thinking do you mind saying you're Burton Guster? He's my emergency contact and I don't want the hospital to call him. He'd freak out a little. A lot. He'd explode, yeah, there'd be explosions."

"Sure, I guess. Can I pass for this guy?" Hardison asked.

"Oh yeah, he's black, your age, smart, knows a lot about a bunch of things … huh, that's weird," Shawn muttered.

"What?"

Shawn shook his head, "I just never noticed before that Eliot and I had such similar sidekicks."

"Oh, I know you didn't just call me Eliot's sidekick," Hardison said indignantly. "Hell no. If anything, Eliot, you know, he's my sidekick because he does all the … the kicking. From the side."

"That's a strong argument you're making, really," Shawn hissed out as they limped to the admission desk. Shawn smiled to the fifty-something nurse behind the counter.

"Hi there. I'm going to need a wheelchair, some morphine and …" he pointed to a cute blonde coming down the hall. "Preferably that nurse, thanks."

* * *

It was six hours before they were finally allowed to leave. Shawn had gotten full bloodwork, a CT scan, x-rays and then was fitted with a brace for his knee. He had needed one before a few years ago and was just thankful he didn't need crutches. It turned out his concussion was minor and none of his ribs were broken, just bruised and sore. He ended up leaving with bandages, pain medication and the phone numbers of three nurses.

Hardison shook his head at how easily Shawn picked up women, "First time I ever noticed the family resemblance between you and Eliot."

"Pff," Shawn scoffed. "He wishes he had these cheek bones. Well, maybe not this one that's all swollen but the other one's still looking good, right?"

"I meant you're both pretty smooth with the ladies," Hardison explained as he walked cautiously next to Shawn, ready to catch him should he stumble.

"Ah yes, the Spencer gift. It can't be taught, I'm sorry," he said apologetically.

"Hey I'm good, you know, I … I got girls," Hardison defended himself.

Shawn smiled knowingly, "And you got Parker."

"I don't think anybody's got Parker, but, working on it I guess," Hardison admitted.

"Good luck," Shawn replied honestly. "Cause that is going to be one tough case to crack."

"Don't I know it. Now come on, we gotta get some Tylenol 3's into you and then I have a feeling you're going to sleep for a week," Hardison commented, noticing how exhausted Shawn was.

"Oh, do you think Eliot will cook for me and bring me meals?" Shawn joked but the mention of the hitter turned the mood serious and Hardison shook his head.

"I don't think he's gonna be up for much for awhile."

When they got to Eliot's apartment they found Nate and Sophie drinking coffee in the kitchen with no sign of the elder Spencer cousin.

"Shawn, how are you doing?" Nate asked in a whisper. "Anything too serious?"

"The general feeling of pain kind of sucks but the knee's the worst of it. I've hurt it before so it's just a flare up, I'll be all right," he assured them. "How's Eliot?"

"He's resting," Sophie replied, her voice just as low as Nate's. "He got the bullet out and he's stitched up."

"_He_ got it out?" Shawn repeated.

"Eliot has a very well stocked apartment and medical training so he uses local anesthetic and then stitches up his own wounds. We help as much as we can," Nate explained simply, clearly exhausted like the rest of them. No one liked it when a job went wrong.

"Whoa, hardcore," Shawn muttered in awe. "I thought I was James Bond."

"Well, you're no Eliot but you did good today man, real good," Hardison assured him.

"You kept your cool and thought fast, that's what important," Nate agreed.

Shawn felt himself honestly blushing so played it off as he usually did, "Guys, thanks really but please … save it for when Eliot's around so I can see the look on his face."

"I think he already knows," Sophie told him.

"Where's Parker?" Hardison asked.

"Oh, planting the evidence against Fenez, making a few anonymous phone calls to the cops, the usual," Nate answered. "When you get a chance I need you to run through his account info too, find out where he's keeping the money he's been stealing from these people."

"Yeah, I can get on that," Hardison promised.

Meanwhile Sophie was watching Shawn who could barely keep his eyes open, "You should get some rest."

"Yeah, I was thinking the floor here looked comfy but I guess I can make it to my room. Night," Shawn nodded to them.

"Sleep tight," Sophie called out.

"If you wanted to tuck me in I wouldn't be opposed …"

"Good night Shawn," Sophie cut him off with a smirk and watched as he hobbled down the hallway dejectedly.

"All right, but you're going to get home and have serious regrets," he said jokingly before he disappeared into his room.

Sophie looked down into her coffee, "Well he's not wrong about that."

"It's not your fault," Nate told her seriously. "No one could have foreseen those extra guards, we worked with what we had. We all got home."

"Yeah," Hardison agreed. "I mean, they're both a little beat up but I feel like they were going to duke it out before this was all over anyway, so this just saved them the trouble."

"This might even keep them from fighting," Nate theorized but Sophie shook her head.

"I think you might be a bit overly optimistic. I wouldn't be surprised if those two fought in their sleep."

* * *

Despite the painkillers Shawn woke up eight hours later and his body wasn't too happy about it. The bruises and muscle pulls had set in deeper as he slept and every movement caused pain fresh enough to keep him from falling back to sleep. He slowly pulled himself out of bed, groaning when he realized his medication was out in the kitchen. Limping out into the hallway he noticed the apartment was quiet which he was thankful for, unsure he would be able to put on his high-energy attitude this morning and fairly certain he would just end up snapping at people.

He grabbed his pills and some water and started to head back for his room but his eyes lingered on Eliot's door and before he really thought about it he was walking inside.

Eliot was sleeping bare-chested and Shawn cringed at the bruises, cuts and bandages that were visible all over his body. One of the hitter's arms was in a sling and the other was laid out with an IV line hooked into it that ran up to clear bag hanging above his bed. Shawn took a seat in a chair by the window, unsure why he was even staying.

It was only a few minutes before Eliot started shifting into consciousness, but Shawn had been expecting that to happen. He figured having someone in the room while he slept would set off the hitter's spidey-sense. When Eliot's eyes opened all the way and he seemed awake Shawn held a glass of water out for him.

"Hey, morning," he greeted him. "I thought I'd be creepy and watch you sleep for awhile."

Eliot managed to chuckle and took the water, "No cartoons on?"

"Bucky O'Hare, but I can't watch that show, it creeps me out. Green rabbits? Cyborg ducks? No, just no, way too weird," Shawn answered but his usual over the top energy was missing from his voice.

"How you feeling?" Eliot asked.

"Fine," Shawn waved him off. "Bruises, I twisted my knee. You?"

"I don't think I'm even sure what day it is," Eliot told him honestly but didn't miss the somber, thoughtful look on his cousin's face. "What are you thinking about?"

Shawn was silent for a moment, debating whether or not to share, then finally answered, "You got shot cause of me. Twice."

"Not cause of you," Eliot replied immediately. "That's the job. That's my job and I choose to do it. Ain't your fault. It wasn't supposed to go down like that though, I'm sorry I got you involved."

Shawn nodded, "Yeah, I'm sorry too. I gloated a lot about saving your life last night but … I never thanked you for saving mine."

"You're welcome. But I was actually saving Sophie's life, you were just a bonus," Eliot joked, breaking the tension.

"I'd hit you if I didn't know that you would exact a terrible revenge against me, possibly using your entire team and this conversation got far too serious so I'm going to go," Shawn said abruptly and stood. "You getting up?"

Eliot shook his head resolutely, he hadn't even pushed himself up into a sitting position, "No, definitely not."

"All right then, I'm going to go eat all your food," Shawn told him unapologetically and headed for the door.

"Oh, but I almost forgot …" Shawn added as he turned around and limped back to Eliot's bedside. Smirking, he picked up the TV remote Eliot had taken the day before off the hitter's nightstand and held it up proudly. "Seems you're not the only Retrieval Specialist in the family."

Eliot rolled his eyes, "Just keep the volume down."

Shawn considered it, "That doesn't sound like me but I'll see what I can do."

He started to leave and turned around yet again, this time more hesitantly, "Um, do you need anything?"

"Just some sleep, thanks. Now go," Eliot answered and pointed at the door, eyes already closed.

"I'm gone," Shawn promised, then added as he closed the door, "But probably not forgotten."

"Not even if I wanted to," Eliot sighed and tried to get back to sleep fast before Animaniacs started blaring through his apartment.

* * *

The next day Shawn was mostly moving around on his own and managed to get his bags packed to head back to Santa Barbara. Hardison picked him up to drive him to the train station but they stopped in at the office first so Shawn could say good-bye to everyone.

As they came in the front door they heard a familiar angry growl.

"The next person who brings me something I didn't ask for is going to be fighting off hitmen alone next job we do."

They found the rest of the team in the conference room. Eliot was sitting at the table with a beer, a glass of water, a bottle of Tylenol, a bowl of chips and a sandwich sitting in front of him. He didn't look happy and neither did Nate, Sophie and Parker who were all standing behind him looking sheepish. Parker disappeared quickly to return the ice pack she had been holding to the kitchen.

"I see you're enjoying finally getting out of the apartment," Shawn laughed as he came in.

"Yeah, it's a dream come true," Eliot muttered. "You all set to go?"

"Pretty sure, there's only thing I'm missing," Shawn answered and held his arms out wide. Nobody moved. "It's a hug. I'm missing a hug. You hug me because I'm leaving and you'll miss me."

Eliot took a sip of his beer and didn't stand up, "Oh, I didn't get that."

Shawn looked exasperated so Nate quickly moved forward and shook his hand, "Thank you Shawn, it was a pleasure and we really appreciate all your help. We'll have your bike sent down to you as soon as your knee gets better and you can drive it. Sorry the job didn't work out as smoothly as we expected."

"Don't worry about it, I'll send you my medical bills," Shawn joked but Hardison shrugged behind him.

"I wouldn't worry too much about that," he told them.

After seeing what the hacker could do with a computer Shawn took his word that they were taken care of, "Cool. Thanks."

"No, thank you," Sophie said, stepping forward and giving him a light hug. "We couldn't have done this job without you. We really appreciate you helping us."

"Thanks guys, but really, knowing that scum bag is behind bars and those sick people got their money back, that's all the thanks I need," Shawn told them humbly.

Parker came back in the room and sat on the table, "Can I have his money then?"

"Money?" Shawn asked, ears perking up.

Eliot held up a check, smirking, "Told ya we were gonna pay you for helping us, but if you don't need it, then I guess Parker can …"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Shawn back-pedalled, reaching for the check. "Let's not be hasty."

Eliot shook his head and handed him the money.

"Cause there's gratitude, which is great, but then there's rent money …" his eyes widened when he saw how big the check was. "For my boat … which I will be buying as soon as I get home apparently."

"Just do me a favor," Eliot requested. "Don't spend it on something stupid."

"Only if you consider pineapple farms stupid, and really, who could disagree with that idea?"

Eliot smiled and stood up to hold out his good hand to his cousin. Shawn smiled and shook it tightly.

"It was good seeing ya, Shawn," he said sincerely.

"You too. Thanks for the adventure. It was not dissimilar to a theme park ride," Shawn replied. They broke apart and Shawn looked over the team with a nod. "Well, it was nice meeting you all. Nate, Sophie, Ms. Lockpicker, until we meet again."

"Take care of yourself," Nate replied for the team.

With his good-byes said Shawn finished with a bow and followed Hardison back out of the office and down to the car.

Sophie looked at Eliot, "Your cousin is a very memorable young man, I'll give him that."

Eliot huffed, "Yeah, memorable. I'm gonna name my new scar after him."

Parker's face scrunched up like she was confused about something, "I think I might miss him."

"I wouldn't worry too much about that," Eliot told her. "He'll be back."

"You invited him to work with us again?" Nate asked.

Eliot shook his head, "No, but trust me, whether he's invited or not, he'll be back."

"Probably sooner than you think," Parker piped in, sounding slightly apologetic. She held up a leather square, "I accidentally stole his wallet."

"Parker," Nate reprimanded automatically, fingers pinching his nose.

Eliot sighed, "I'll call Hardison, they might not have left yet."

"So much for a grand good-bye," Sophie commented.

"Tell Shawn not to wear such loose pants. This slipped out like butter," Parker told Eliot as she flipped the wallet open and then tilted her head. "And ask him why his wallet is filled with pictures of Val Kilmer."

The end.

Thank you all for your interest, love and support of this story. It's been a blast to write and discuss with you all. I'm sad that it's over but hopefully I did the end justice. Again, all your kind words and support have been greatly, greatly appreciated and I hope you enjoyed the finale. Until next time!


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